To Forget a Love Since Found
by FanWriter Asher
Summary: Prequel to Remember a Love Long Lost. We follow a Volturi Guard, Kai, who is tasked with teaching a newly turned Bella how to be a vampire and how to control and lower her shield, so in time he can alter her memories and make her the perfect warrior for Aro. As they get to know one another, feelings develop and Kai must chose to erase her memories...or kill the girl he loves.
1. Chapter 1

Mordecai's POV

~March 2010~

* * *

A knock at my chamber door distracted me and I broke free from the call of the hunt. I gasped aloud and dropped my head back, feeling the demon which at that time had been controlling my body sink back into the depths of my soul, and the emotions and humanity rise. Looking down at the body in my arms – well, what remained of her – I felt a rush of disgust and repulsion at her mutilated young form and she dropped to the ground with a wet thump.

"Whomever you are, I suggest you leave. I'm busy."

The knock was followed by a voice I had come to know well. "Mordecai, it is I. May I enter?"

Her childish voice put me on edge and I rolled my eyes. "No you may not, Jane, I am feeding." I snarled in response.

"I know." Sure, she knew, she had smelt the blood from down the hall. She was probably fighting her own demons, as if she gave in she would have already broken through the door to find the blood. "But Aro sent me. He summons you to the throne room, he has a favour to ask of you."

I contemplated unleashing the hunter just to take down Jane, but Aro seemed to enjoy her company. I wondered which out of the two of us he would chose, should he ever need to.

"I will be there shortly. Thank you, Jane." My dismissal was abundantly clear. I heard her gentle but sure steps fade away, and once I was sure the hall beyond the room was empty, I let out an exasperated sigh and slumped against the wall. Aro was summoning me during my own time now? When I was feeding?

The thought of blood drew my attention back to the body at my feet; and the three others thrown about the room. Altogether four humans, each had tasted delicious and hot on my lips, having sacrificed their lives – although be it unwillingly – to satisfy the demon within. I had killed them, yes, but I had not caused them a great deal of pain. I'd broken their necks and took their lives in the second I entered the room, they had not seen their deaths coming. I may have been a monster, but that did not mean I enjoyed being one.

I knew Aro would be expecting me momentarily, though I did not like the idea of returning to my chambers to finish my hunt, and although the sight of the fourth dead girl uneased me, the blood pooling beneath her was too compelling to ignore. I crouched low and scooped up her light, almost skeletal corpse, and sunk my teeth back into her already torn throat.

* * *

I strolled down the hall leading to the throne room, two vampires, Dimitri and Felix, stood guard outside. "Boys." I cooed. They did not look away, but did not smile either. Why must everyone in this coven be so dull? Sure, I had my fun with some of others, but Dimitri and Felix were among the few guard members whom incomprehensibly did not enjoy my company.

Probably because they both were "Straight" If they spent one night in my chambers they'd warm up to me sooner rather than later. Especially Felix.

The doors opened from within and Jane emerged, she tried to hide her joy at seeing me but failed. She had not mastered hiding her emotions from me. It was no secret the girl crushed on me, desired to have me, it could be sensed by anyone unfortunate enough to stand too close to her. What made it worse was that I could not escape it. Obviously, I did not lust for her in return. She was but a child upon being turned, and even if she were physically an adult I would still have preferred to burn away my hand than touch that cruel creature.

"There you are. I was beginning to wonder if you were intentionally ignoring our master's call?" I brushed past her tiny form and stepped down into the throne room to stand before my 'masters.'

"Of course not, Jane, I would not disrespect them in such a way." I dropped to bended knee and lowered my head, if only to hide my bored eyes.

"No, you wouldn't. You are a loyal, and trusting friend." Aro's smooth, cold voice rang down from atop the dais on which his and his brothers thrones were placed. They were all present today, meaning this meeting was one of importance (to them at least) and humorous behaviour would not be tolerated. "Rise, my child." Aro instructed.

 _My Child._

I hated that. Sure, Aro called all of us his children but when he called me it, he meant it.

In spite of the fact I had been a vampire for almost three hundred years and lived three times the average years of an ordinary human, I had only been a part of the infamous Volturi coven for only short while compared to the others. Therefore, my own coven mates – or as Aro would have me call them, Family – still thought of me as the baby of the coven. I supposed this reaction was to be expected, or at least understood as my new brothers and sisters had been around much, much longer than I.

Yet this still irritated me. I, a fully grown (and strikingly beautiful, I might add) man who had lived hundreds of years was considered a sapling compared to the likes of Jane, whom physically hadn't bled yet when Aro sunk his teeth into her flesh and corrupted her soul.

Not that I believed the little brat had a soul in the first place, but that was beside the point.

I raised to my feet, meeting the burgundy coloured eyes of my masters. The three Rulers of the immortal race. Neither one of them was at all appealing to look at, despite the beauty immortality granted to us all. Caius was the youngest, and could have been handsome if it weren't for the sneer he had long since chosen as a permanent expression, Marcus was somewhat average but he was older physically, and looked like an actual statue (I could even see a fine layer of dust on his eyes, hinting that he was lost deep in thought and had not bothered to remember to blink) Aro was livelier than the others, than any vampire I had ever met. A little too enthusiastic if you ask me, but we all knew it was a ruse. A game he played he'd been playing with everyone for centuries despite being the only player.

He reached back and tucked his long, dark hair behind his ears, and then the corners of his mouth twitched in response to my kneel.

"Master." I addressed him. Master. I hated the word, hated it since Aro had informed me on the day I joined this coven that this was the title I were to address him by from that day on. I had not want to be a part of this coven, I had not wanted to be anywhere near this man. Yet I never had a choice.

Aro had heard of me and summoned me to Volterra. At the time, I had not known that what I believed to be a warm invitation to mean I would not be allowed to leave. He had welcomed me into his city with kindness, but I knew something was wrong when they began asking questions about who knew me, did I have a coven and coven mates? Could I see myself living in Volterra permanently?

When the time came for us to part ways, Aro's last request was that I would make acquaintance with a member of his guard, Chelsea. A short girl with an hourglass shape, fair brown hair and crimson eyes. I would later come to discover her ability to loosen or secure emotional ties from one person to another, thus my sudden surge of affection for Aro and the exhilaration at being offered the opportunity to join him as part of his guard.

Usually Chelsea's sway over an immortal would last a few centuries before her call was needed again, though only decades had passed when I broke free from the spell she had enveloped me in. I had become self-aware of the manipulation. I wanted to flee, desired to roam the world a free man, but I knew that if Aro discovered my aversion to her sway then he would wonder whether his gift too could be tricked.

It could. Aro could read every thought, see every image and feel every memory I had ever experienced. But I was the master of memory. My ability allowed for me to control and shape memory like clay, in humans and immortals alike. He was in the dark about this fact, but when Aro touched my hand he saw only what I wanted him to see.

Marcus did not acknowledge me, he had not in decades, Caius sneered but nodded once, Aro, however, rose carefully to his feet and stepped down to embrace me. I welcomed and returned the hug though was cautious of the contact and where his hands were placed on my shoulders. You could never truly trust vampires.

Trust me.

"Kai, I'm must apologise for disturbing you whilst you were hunting." He reached up and touched the collar of my white shirt, stained with a single spot of red. Usually, I was more careful than this but Jane had distracted me.

"It is no worry, Master. What service can I be to you?"

He cupped my hands in his own, his eyes glossed off with my memories. I remained calm, having mastered my expressions and thoughts around him. He smiled and let go. Aro had not seen my disloyalty, my loathing or hatred for this place. He had seen only love and adoration for him. He could not tell the difference from true thought to false.

"I would very much like to introduce you to someone." He then beckoned back to the doors, which were heaved open from the outside and I turned just as Felix strolled into the room with a human girl in his grasp.

That was the first time I laid my eyes on…her.

Isabella – or as she would later come to correct me – Bella.

She thrashed about and swore, her cures bouncing highly off the throne rooms marble walls. One of the first things I noticed about her was the valiant effort she gave in trying to remain calm. To any immortal, it was more than obvious she was scared out of her wits, her heart drummed against her chest at a rapid, worrisome rate. A bead of sweat gleamed on her temple, then was caught in her matted, dirty hair. Her eyes flew back and forth across the room, to Aro and Caius, Marcus then back to Felix before he gave her a light tap on the shoulder and she collapsed with a cry to the stone flags.

She caught sight of my shoes, then her head snapped up and our eyes met. She had beautiful eyes, for a human. Wide and large, an unusual shade of brown that although was dark, seemed bright at the same time – and filled with panic, of course, but still beautiful.

"So this is the human?" I asked, taking her all in. I had known of the human in the dungeons. The little pet Aro had met some time ago and decided that one way or another, she was going to be his. The poor thing would have been allowed to live her human life with the Cullen's – or killed for knowing too much of the truth – but unfortunately for her she was gifted, and he had been stunned and fascinated by her mental immunity to many of our gifts. And a gifted human would prove for an even more talented immortal.

And if there was anything Aro liked, it was the Gifted.

I felt sympathy for the human as she was only young, in her late teens it had appeared, and she had been taken from a world she had known and loved and thrown in a cage in the ground to bleed and rot until she accepted Aro's offer.

"Yes, Kai, please meet Isabella." He said her name with a purposely exaggerated Italian accent. "As I am sure you are well aware, Isabella visited our home a few months ago to save her mate, dear Edward, from exposing himself to the humans. He wanted to die, you understand, but she could not allow it, and she came all this way to stop him, whilst under the impression that he did not love her."

"I recall, master." I was here on that day, listening in to the confrontation from the rooftop, where I had been on duty watching the courtyard and the festival that day. I could see her face so clearly in my mind now, the panic that spread across her features as she barged her way passed the shrouded crowd, as she splashed through the fountain and then crashed into her lover, saving him from a certain death sentence should he have been seen.

"It was on that most marvellous day I first had the pleasure of meeting Isabella,"

"Fuck you!" The girl spat at him, her saliva traced with blood that set us all on edge, yet we kept our calm. She had delicious smelling blood that made even my mouth swell with venom.

"Felix, if the human dares to speak again without being spoken to then I suggest you break something. A bone for each interruption." Caius finally smiled.

Felix huffed a soft laugh before Aro tutted and glanced over his shoulder at his white-haired brother. "Caius, you fail to see how scared Isabella must be. This change for her must be terrifying."

"Respecting her betters is something the girl must come to learn." So, they intended to keep her around then. For how long and what purpose she would serve – if not to remain as a slave, that is – I did not know.

"I also came to understand, on that day –" Aro continued as he begun pacing around the human. A predator circling it's pray. "–Isabella has the most peculiar ability. Immunity to my power, and Edward's and even dear Jane's, and as a human!" My gaze flicked to hers, she did not look pleased. "I decided that…I wanted her." There it was, the shift in his attitude, the change in the tone of his already unnerving voice. He had gone from an old friend, to a cruel and demanding monarch. "Your Gift will serve as a great use to me."

"I won't help you, ever. I'd die first." She breathed out.

"Felix." Caius snapped and I had to force myself to watch as the guard stepped on the girl's ankle and I listened to the sound of her shattering bones. She cried out, and thrashed beneath him yet he held firm, pressing harder until her screams could be heard throughout the entire clock tower. Her cries were not actual cries, but instead were loud yells, intakes of breath; I realized she was trying to withhold her pain.

"Felix." Aro ground his teeth and the guard, fearing Aro over Caius, stepped away and left the girl be. Aro tutted and slowly crouched down. He gripped her chin securely in his hand and titled her head until she was looking him in the eye.

"And die you shall, but you will be reborn anew."

Though I was curious, he did not continue this topic and instead was silent for a long few seconds. Then what Jane had said when she came to my door came back to me. "Jane said you had a favour to ask of me – master?" I added the master, often forgetting or not caring enough to remember to say it.

"Yes! I had so hoped that Isabella would take her time here in our home to reconsider my offer of becoming one of us, though unfortunately she has refused to join us of her own will still. So, I have decided to take the choice away from her."

"You want for me to turn her?" I did not know if I could accomplish such a task, her blood was too sweet, too tempting. How did he expect me to taste it and not consume it all? "I'm afraid I do not have the strength not to kill the girl."

"No, No, don't you worry. She will become one of us, and I will take the burden of being the one to do it. What I want from you, dear Kai, is to turn our frightened Isabella into someone new. A different person, someone strong and dangerous and feared."

The look on my face was enough to warrant a further explanation.

"You can rewrite minds. I have seen it done with my own eyes. You can make a human forget all they know and believe themselves to be another entirely."

"Yes, but master? The girl is a shield? My ability will not work on her."

"Not as a human, but as one of us I believe she will have the capability to control her shield. With time and practice. Do you think it is possible?"

I considered it. "In theory."

"Excellent. The larger details can be agreed upon when that joyful day comes, but for now I want you to teach her, train her, show her the ways of our kind; in the meantime, you will aid her in learning to manipulate her shield. It will take time, this I understand, but one day and one day soon Isabella will lower her shield and then you will have your chance to alter her memories. Do you accept this task?"

I looked down at the human girl again and felt a wave of pity roll over me. Naturally, I would accept this task albeit with no interest in the human's future. You did not refuse Aro. Not if you wanted to continue living. The girl blinked up at me with eyes that shone bright with new tears, her hands trembled just as uncontrollably as her shattered leg.

"I accept."

"Good. But first – Felix? Fetch me the girl, please?"

Understanding what he meant by this, she begun to scramble away but she could not get very far, not on that broken leg. Not that the leg made any difference at all. She could have been in excellent health and still would not have made it to the doors. Felix nodded, before leaning down and scooping Isabella up by the throat.

His grip was tight, not enough to break her neck but enough to hurt. Fresh tears streamed down her cheeks, and over onto his pale, carved knuckles. He held her there like a rag doll, before moving to meet Aro in the centre of the room, directly beneath the dome ceiling.

There was no need to be as careful, not when any injury she had would soon vanish without a trace.

"Please – No – Please!" Bella begged, attempting to maintain an upright position once he dropped her before Aro. I could see from the swelling on her calf and ankle that any pressure would only hinder her leg further, nevertheless the venom's healing properties would stich the bone together and heal the torn muscle with ease.

"You will one day come to thank me for this, Isabella." He then cupped her face and brushed a thumb across her cheek, wiping away a stray tear. " _Mia dolce figila."_

He had called her 'His Sweet Daughter.' She had already become his daughter.

His eyes widened, his pupils dilated and for the first time ever I witnessed the hunter sleeping within Aro awaken and surface as he opened his mouth and leaned in to meet her neck. I heard the tear as his teeth sliced through her skin, the piercing scream that followed was unlike any I had heard before. Aro's hand flew up and shoved Felix with enough force to make the man almost twice his size stumble away, then he took Bella in his arms and held her to him, his tense fingers running through her hair, his palm on her lower back being the only support keeping the poor, limp girl from crumbling to the ground again.

The scream from the bite had died out, but it would not be much longer before the fiery venom we all remembered too well begun coursing through her veins, changing each cell as it passes by. I did not know how long her transformation would last, she was starved and dehydrated after all, with broken bones and who knew what other hidden ailments.

I hoped for her sake she would not suffer for very long.

When Aro pulled away he seemed bewildered, lost in awe for a moment before reality set in and he wiped his arm across his mouth yet her blood still coloured his lips. Bella fell to the ground, writhing in the early stages of the agony.

"Her blood," he tittered, facing each of us in the room. "Is very delicious. I found myself struggling to stop." His voice was somewhat uncertain, but I would not think that he would scrap all his plans just to finish off the girl himself. No. Aro's hopes were too strong to be conquered by appealing blood.

An admirable trait, some would say.

"I expect the Cullen's will arrive with the next few days, having just been released of Alec's hold on them. When they do, I would like for you to be here."

"Yes, Master."

"For tonight, go, finish your hunt if you have not done so already. I suggest you decide on how you will train our newest addition once her transformation is complete. I will call for you then."

"Thank you, Master." Another low bow to him, and to Marcus and Caius also before I straightened and headed for the door. I did not look back at Bella but felt a strange desire to, deciding that I needed to maintain a carefree appearance, I left the throne room and continued down the hall.

I did not stop until the sound of her blood-curdling, agonizing screams faded away.

* * *

Asher's Note:

Hello Everyone! This is the first chapter to my new story! First, this is a companion story – a prequel, really – to another story of mine called 'Remember a Love Long Lost' A story about Isabella who believes herself to be a Volturi Guard, and a valued and high ranking one at that. In Remember a Love Long Lost, Isabella discovers her memories are fake and placed there by Kai. She goes off with the Cullen's to try and discover who she used to be, whilst at the same time trying to keep a hold on whom she has become. This story is from Kai's POV and will follow Bella and himself as he teaches her the ways of the vampire, their laws and how to master her shield before he erased her identity forever. Newcomers to this story and the world, it is not necessary to read the main story as this is a prequel but I do suggest it.

Everyone, Please, review and let me know what you think!

~Asher~


	2. Chapter 2

Mordecai's POV

* * *

Bella Swan's transformation from human to vampire lasted four full days. A little longer than the average vampire, though I presumed this was due to the fact she was in a terrible state of health upon being bitten. At the time, she'd suffered through broken bones and bruised organs, she'd been starved of food since her arrival in Volterra and had consumed less than a single glass of water in the week she had been our prisoner.

His prisoner. Not mine.

My private chambers were only a floor away from the stairwell leading to the dungeons deep beneath the city, so I listened to her agonising screams of excruciating pain for days on end; when those screams finally came to a slow but steady halt, I was on my feet and running down the hall as fast as I possibly could. When I descended the stairwell, and turned the following corner, I was met by two low ranking guards, Malaka and Santino, and one higher ranking guard.

"Good Afternoon, Mordecai." Greeted Jane. I approached and returned only a nod. I was in no mood for obligated pleasantries. I darted around her and eased open the ancient wooden door to step carefully into her cell. The room was small and dark, with no possible way out. A nightmare to someone whom suffered from claustrophobia. Even I felt uncomfortable in this space, and I could have smashed through the walls with ease. The ground beneath my shoes was dark sand, and the walls were made of pale stone that had once been the sandy colour of the buildings high above but the lack of daylight had left them and this place cold and grey.

There were four people already in this room. Aro was here, perhaps he had been waiting just as I had to greet the newest addition to our little 'Family'. He knelt on the floor before her and although I could not see the girl before him, I knew it to be Bella. Aro tucked his long hair behind his ears and rested his hands softly on his lap. Behind Aro stood Renata, his personal body guard due to her ability to repel opponents and confuse them into forgetting their purpose. She took her eyes off her beloved master for only a moment to assess me before concluding I would not cause him harm and she allowed me to pass.

I crossed in front of Felix – the brute Aro had brought to take Bella's life should the girl attempt to kill him. (Since she now could)

"Ah, Mordecai." Aro cooed as he glanced over his shoulder. A stupid move, turning your back on your enemy. But then again, Aro did not see Bella as his enemy. He saw her as his child, his new daughter. "Come see Isabella. Immortality becomes her."

I stepped further and could finally see what Aro had done.

She was exquisitely beautiful, far more attractive now she was one of us. The lines of her face, the angles and curves, all seemed sharper and more defined. Precise and perfect, in every way. Her body was still smudged with dirt and dried blood but beneath the filth her pearly white skin seemed to be glowing. The crescent moon scar on her wrist had vanished and along with it, all other imperfections. I had wondered where it had come from, and who had saved her from the transformation in the past. Her dirty hair, however unclean and unwashed, seemed thicker, healthier and full of life. The last but by no means least noticeable change was the colour of her eyes. Gone were the flecks of warm brown married with lighter hues, replaced now with deep crimson; a testament to the monster she had become.

"Isn't she… _beautiful_." He said the last word with the Italian accent he favoured so. Bella leaned away from him in an attempt to burry herself further into the corner.

"Agreed." I confirmed and her eyes found my own, full of fear and anger and hated for everyone and everything. "How're you feeling?" I asked, keeping my distance. Newborn's were ravenous. Dangerously hungry. It was a miracle she hadn't caught the scent of a slave yet and begun her first hunt. I knew if she did, Aro would not stop her. He'd stand aside and watch his newest sire tear an innocent to pieces.

"My throat." She said, rubbing her neck as if she had been strangled. Her voice was very much the same but clearer than before, without the raspy stutter. "It burns."

"Yes," Aro nodded along with her, "The price we all must pay to exist as we are. You will need to feed soon." Her eyes snapped up at the mention of blood. She had yet to have her first taste and already she sensed that it was what she craved most in the entire world. I recognized this expression, had seen it on numerous newborn when they realize the only way to quench this pain was to kill. Torn between morality and nature.

I was going to speak and ask if he wanted me find someone for her to feed on, but hesitated when my enhanced ears caught a sound, the rush of footsteps, a whoosh as an immortal sped down the hall to stop outside of this room. Aro spun just as a lower ranking guard – Rhys, I believed his name to be – looked at us all with wild, panicked eyes.

"Master," He blurted out, then collapsed to one knee once he remembered he was in front of our leader.

"What is it?" Aro asked, a smile on the edge of his lips. He already knew, just from the boy's expression and body language, and from Aro's I, too, already knew what he was about to say. "The Cullen's!" He exclaimed, "They're here, they're coming through the city now."

Aro's lips spread into a terrifying sneer. " _Eccellente."_

"Edward?" Bella gasped aloud, hope flickered in her tainted eyes.

"They've come for you, my child." Aro explained gently to her, but then he shook his chin. "But I am afraid they have wasted a journey."

"He'll kill you," Bella argued matter-of-factly.

"No," Aro said in a deeper voice now as he rose from bended knee to stand dominantly above her, a ruler standing above a prisoner soon to be friend. "He won't."

Aro spun, his cloak flapping and blowing up a wave of dust and sand into the air as he strode for the door.

"Then I will." And Bella lunged. In a second she had crossed the space of the room and was reaching for Aro but before she could take his life, Felix intervened and had one hand on the back of her neck and the other smashed her head against the wall. If she were human his hand would have broken through her skull, even if he hadn't meant to do it.

She cried out as he moved to pin both of her small wrist behind her back with his one giant hand.

Aro laughed and it made my skin crawl. Aro's laugh was by no means a pleasant one. High pitched like a musical chord off tune, the kind of laugh one would imagine from a little ghost girl in a horror story. He beckoned towards Bella as he looked to me, then to the other guards in the room. "They are so resentful when they are young, but you will come to love me one day, Isabella."

Felix's release on her loosened and she slid to the ground, shaken and alarmed, but also furious.

"Jane?" Aro called and the child opened the door and stepped into the cell.

"Master?" She dipped her chin. Her face was expressionless but I could almost sense the anger radiating from her in waves. She was not pleased about this arrangement, and was infuriated with Aro for wanting Bella – or the Bella she will become once I have altered her identity – to take her place as his right-hand man. She was being replaced.

"Would you please collect some of the others to come and escort Isabella to the throne room when I call for her. I would first like to greet out visitors, before we show them their surprise. And Kai?"

"Yes, Master?" I averted my gaze from the Newborn and faced my master with my hands clasped accordingly behind my back.

"Join me in the throne room shortly." I nodded once, remembering how he had instructed for me to be present when the Cullen's arrive In Volterra. Aro left the cell with Renata and several other guards on tail, chuckling quietly to himself as he walked away. There was no sound for a long while, no heartbeat any longer.

"You heard him." I snapped to Jane and she scowled at me as she hastened away. I heard the ruffle of movement and spun to see Bella finally moving. She rose to her feet slowly, and took a steady step, her leg now completely healed. She reached up and tucked her hair behind her ears, then rubbed the cheek Felix had pressed against the stone. I faced Felix. "Keep her in here until Aro sends for her, do not let her leave and do not let anyone else enter. Understood?" Felix seemed not to appreciate my giving him orders, and he did not present me with a response so I left without another second's hesitation.

* * *

I would do as Aro had asked but first I was curious about the visitors. The Cullen's. So, I branched off from the main hall and headed up another spiralling staircase. I snatched up a spare cloak, tied it tightly around my throat then lifted the hood to cover my face as I climbed the last stairwell and found myself on the rooftop of the clock tower.

The day was ending, the last few rays of the sun burned on the horizon, casting an ember glow over the city that melted into the cold of night. I approached the stone balustrades and already could detect several other guards stationed in buildings throughout the square, watching from behind curtains and shadowed alleyways as the Olympic Coven strode bravely across the stone flags towards the clock tower. Just as I had heard there were seven of them, four males and three females, each varying in shape and size but all radiating exquisite beauty and each of them watching the Guard with eyes of liquid gold.

In the centre of the coven stood the man I knew to be the leader, Carlisle, whom I recognized from an old oil portrait in one of our halls. Handsome, in a mature, dapper kind of way with a firm chest beneath his cashmere V-neck sweater and fair windswept hair. On his arm clung the woman I assumed to be his mate; a skinnier woman but with curves in all the right places and a bounce in her curling caramel locks.

They seemed to come in mated pairs. The second pairing consisted of a man made of muscle with dark, curly hair and a woman whom had to be the most beautiful female to have ever existed. Her beauty stunned even me; tall and slender with plump lips, defined cheekbones and long, hair made of golden silk. The last girl was short and childlike in the way she walked forward with almost a skip, and a wide, carefree smile on her a face. A façade, a lie, she had to be panicking inside. Unlike her mate, who looked to be in an immense state of dismay and despair perpetually.

The last, lonely male was Edward. _The_ Edward. Bella's Edward.

Her Mate.

And he did not look pleased.

I had to admit that I felt somewhat sorry for the poor boy. He was young even by my standards, both physically and mentally, barely a century old. He was both lucky enough to have found his mate and unfortunate enough to lose her so soon, and to lose one's mate was to lose yourself.

Edward did not look prepared to lose either.

He darted around his coven mates, striding forward with a sense of purpose: to rescue his mate and destroy anyone who dare to cross him. His hands were curled into fists, his lips barred to show his clenched, white teeth. A low growl could be heard to those with enhanced ears, building in the hollow of his throat.

The leader bounded away from his mate and snatched the arm of the bronze haired boy, twisting him so they were face to face. No words were exchanged, they only spoke with their eyes and…with their thoughts. I only now remembered what I had heard about Edward Cullen. The young immortal capable of reading anyone's mind, like Aro, but without the disadvantage of physical contact. Aro wanted him and I was sure one day he would have him, if the boy survived the night.

After only a moment, Edward tore his arm free and continued towards the building beneath me. I heard the wooden doors to the clock tower open and the Cullen's disappear, so I knew I would have to make my way to the throne room immediately. It did not take me long, and I arrived minutes before the Cullen's as I knew of ever secret passage and tunnel in all Volterra.

"Are they on their way?" Asked Dimitri whom stood guard outside the throne room doors, an excited smirk on his face at the impending conflict to come.

"Right on my tail." I informed him, moving around him to enter the throne room.

The Masters were all present today as I had assumed. Sat atop the dais upon which their thrones had been placed centuries ago. They had found time to change also, into dark shirts and pressed trousers, with polished black shoes. All looking like statues carved from the same slab of white concrete stone which, unusually, gave them a somewhat translucent appearance at the same time.

Aro was grinning maliciously my way, with his fingers interlocked, resting upon his lap again. His long jet black hair was tucked neatly behind his ears, and it cascaded around his shallow face, contrasting against the chalky white texture of his skin and the hazed over look in his eyes. He caught my eye and held it, to then reach up and tap something hanging from a golden chain around his neck. The ornate, golden, ruby embedded V- shaped pendent he, his brothers, and the higher-ranking guard wore to symbolize their status among the hierarchy of our kind. I never bothered to wear it and he usually did not mind, but if he were to introduce me to the Cullen coven then he wanted me to come across as dedicated, with unwavering loyalty to him and this 'family' he had created.

I reached into my blazer pocket and withdrew my own pendent and dropped it over my head. It lay flat against my chest like a heavy, cold weight on my soul. He nodded in approval and I continued walking. I did not wish to stand by my masters, so I leapt up from the ground and landed on the opposite side of an interior balcony which overlooked the entire throne room. The balcony lead onto one of the many staircases in the building allowing for Aro and his brothers to flee at any given moment, should the need to arise.

Stepping back, I leaned against the stone column and waited for the Cullen's to arrive.

It wasn't long before we heard the stampede of footsteps, the feral growls of warning ripping through clenched teeth, and the doors to the throne room burst open a second later. The Cullen's poured in, followed by a dozen members of our most powerful guard. They flocked to protect the trio, a wall of immortal warriors between them and our masters.

Caius was eager about this confrontation, fighting the urge to leap forward from his seat. His eyes were a dead giveaway, the bloodlust was as powerful as the colour itself, blazing through the thin, snow-white hair falling over his face. Aro gave him a glance, a single look and in it, Caius could read Aro's anger towards him. He let out a heavy breath, sat back and drummed his fingertips against the armrest.

"Ah, Cullen's!" Aro rejoiced, turning his attention back to the Cullen clan and clapping his hands only once. Aro carried his cheery disposition with him always.

The Cullen's stopped when they reached the centre of the room, save for Edward whom took it a step further. His hands were again curled into bone-like claws, his body tense and prepared to kill. "Where is she!" He roared from the base of his throat, the sound bouncing and echoing off the walls of the dome above.

"My, Edward, have you forgotten your manners back in your quaint little town? What kind of hello is that to an old friend?"

Ignoring Aro's games, Edward growled again. "What did you do to her!" Edward ground his teeth, his fingers flexing, preparing to lunge. Aro's smiled dropped and he rolled his hazy eyes, displeased at Edward's lack of interest in his facade.

"Isabella is safe and well. She is far better off now than she has ever been."

There was silence until Edward gasped aloud. I realized he was seeing Bella through Aro's eyes, seeing her pain, listening to her screams, tasting her blood on his tongue as Aro took her human life from her. Then he moved. I knew the moment Renata's power took effect. The wave that washed over Edward hit me and presumably everyone else also and I knew I could not have taken a single step in Aro's direction, even if I wanted to. Edward stopped and stumbled a moment, squinting as if he couldn't quite remember where he was or what he was doing here in the first place. Aro's smile was faint, but there.

Carlisle moved forward just as he had out in the courtyard, to hold back the boy he treat as a son. "Edward, calm yourself." He gave him a gentle push back, and his mate moved to touch Edward's shoulder soothingly. It was all she could do to comfort him, calm him. He knew as well as the rest of us present that if Edward dared to try anything like that again, he would lose his life. Or worse, Aro would kill someone he cared about. He enjoyed doing that.

"Aro." Carlisle approached him cautiously until Renata had decided he had stepped too far and Carlisle became paralysed in that spot. It was still so strange to see others address Aro with his name. Those within our coven were required to call him master unless asked otherwise, but to other covens and nomads, he was simply Aro. I yearned to one day call him by his name to his face.

"Carlisle! How wonderful to see you again! It has been too long, my friend." Aro rose as if to meet Carlisle and embrace him but Carlisle took a sturdy step back and shook his chin.

"Don't." He said demandingly. "You know why we're here, you know whom we've come for."

"Yes. Isabella. I assure you she is in perfect health, and I do hope this little misunderstanding will not come between our old friendship."

"How can you speak of friendship?" Carlisle argued with a confounded smile, unbelieving of what Aro was saying. "You claim to be an old friend yet you bombard my home with your men, cripple my family and I, and abduct one of our own? How is that friendship?"

"Do not question me, Carlisle." Aro's pleasantries had gone. "I understand your family cared for the girl, that Edward wanted her as his mate but that girl is far more valuable to me than she is to any of you. She will serve a greater purpose as one of us than Edward's play thing."

"Edward! Don't!" The short girl exclaimed at the same time the muscular man and his stunning mate, the blonde, reached to hold him back. Admittingly, I was highly amused. It had been quite some time since an immortal had dared to confront Aro so openly about their hatred for him, to try and harm him in any way, shape or form. Every individual whom had tried to in the past was nothing but ash today, but it acted as entertainment to those of us whom despised Aro as much as they did.

"Bring her." Aro said, and a moment later a lower ranking guard vanished through a hidden door. She was gone only seconds, before we heard the footsteps of their return. A side door leading to another tunnel opened and Felix, along with Jane and another guard I believed to be Michael, marched into the room, dragging Bella along behind them. Felix lifted the girl by her throat and, just as he had when Aro had bitten her, hauled her into his arms. He had his arm wrapped around her neck, her chin pressed against the crease of his elbow. A single move, one twist and her head would pop right off.

Bella's red eyes were full on panic and hated until she noticed the Cullen's – well, Edward. Bella looked at Edward as if he were the only person in the room, as if only she and he existed in their own little universe and he was her sun, keeping her alive and warm and safe. I mean, the bronze haired boy – her Edward, her hero – was handsome and most definitely fuckable, but he was not to my taste. The muscular man or the Leader, they were more like it, but I wouldn't turn the blondes away either.

"Edward!" She cried. I returned my gaze to the Cullen's, to the look on their faces. Each bewildered and lost at the girl before them, Edward being the only one to already see what his beloved had become yet his face is the hardest to read. His features hard and furious but his eyes soulful and longing. I imagined this is not how he wanted his eternity by Bella's side to start.

"Please," Edward pleaded with Aro, his eyes shining with desperation, "Please, let her go. Take me! You've wanted me as a part of your coven from the day we met and now you can have me, if only you let Bella go free."

I had known that Aro desired Edward, as well as the short girl who could see the future, for the longest time but whether he would give up Bella – a shield against psychic attacks not only for him but for us all – for someone that shared an ability so like his own was not something I could predict.

"She has hardly lived," Edward continued, "She hasn't had a chance to see the world, to know freedom the way we do. You're taking that away from her by keeping her here beyond her will. I won't run, I won't fight. I'll serve you to no end if only you let her go, please!" He was wholeheartedly truthful, I could sense it. This immortal was willing to give up his entire existence to obey every word that came out of Aro's mouth, all for the human – or now vampire – girl he'd fallen in love with.

Aro then let out a heavy, defeated sigh and waved Isabella towards the Cullen's with a flick of his wrist. "Release her, Felix."

At this, all eyes flew to Aro. I waited for the punch line, for a joke to be made.

"Master?" Felix questioned riskily. Aro nodded.

"I said, release her."

It took another few seconds and several glances to other guard members, but then Felix withdrew his arm and Bella – once she was sure no one was about to take her head off – crossed the space of the room in less than a blink of an eye and Edward ran to meet her.

They crashed into one enough with enough force to shake the room, the collision reminding me of two colliding boulders that were happy to meet their end. Edward hauled her into his arms, his chest, and buried his face into her thick, matted hair, sobbing tearlessly into the girl with all his heart. There was no denying that she was his mate, that his world now revolved around her. He was not her sun, she was his.

"Bella!" He wept, holding her close.

I heard what sounded to be a muffled chuckle come from the newborn, then a whisper that barely passed her lips. "You're so warm."

"As are you, my love."

Edward then looked over Bella's head at Aro and I could see in the way his features shifted that he knew Aro was not letting Bella leave. You did not need to be a mind reader to figure that one out.

"You're not letting her go." He said in a rumble of anger. "You want to keep her here."

"You're mistaken, young Edward. I am not keeping Isabella here against her will any further. I have turned her against her will, that I have done and wrongly, I admit, but you see, I am giving Isabella a choice to make, but first-"

Aro suddenly looked right at me as if I had called out his name, and I knew the time had come for me to make my entrance. I stepped out from behind the pillar and dropped over the side of the stone railing. I fell with grace and beauty, and landed as softly as a feather would on a dying breeze. All eyes snapped my way, taking in all I was. I forced on a smile, a lie and sauntered across the room.

"Master." I dipped my head quickly, before lifting it to meet Edward's eyes of topaz gold. I knew he was surely reading every thought going through my mind and hating me for every one of them.

"My friends," Aro called loudly to our guests, "I would like to introduce you to Mordecai. Mordecai, please meet my old friends, the Cullen's."

"Cullen's." I greeted them with a dip of my imaginary hat, forcing on my most charming smile. No one bothered to return it.

Aro stepped down from the dais and slowly stalked forward, Renata barely a meter away always. "Mordecai here is one of my more powerful children, gifted with an ability I dare say could destroy us all. The power to manipulate memory and will. He can alter memories, implant new ones or erase them altogether, but anyone who falls prey to his compulsion will also be compelled to do whatever he asks of them. He can make them do the most outrageous things and they are unable to refuse him."

Carlisle and his children took me in a second time, analysing me, trying to figure out what Aro had in store. Edward, on the other hand, was filing through Aro's thoughts to the root of cause. Aro was talented at controlling his thoughts, almost as talented as I, but it was only a matter of time before Edward discovered what our master had in store for poor Bella Swan.

"Impossible." Carlisle shook his head, "Such a gift does not exist."

"Do you require a demonstration?" Aro sounded angered but also eager to do just that. He turned and beckoned to the guard closest to the door. "Bring me Valentina." She nodded once then slipped out, returning only moments later with a heartbeat. The girl they fetched in was the newest human addition to our guard, replacing Gianna whose time with us had expired only days after Bella's first visit to Volterra. She was prettier than the last, and younger too, with tanned skin combined with dark hair tied back into a messy bun and eyes of the same dark colour. She wore the usual attire, a blood red dress, black stockings and black heels. She wore an expression I had seen recently…on Bella moments before Aro had killed her.

The moment she entered the room, Bella lost herself. She shoved Edward back with a great deal of force and went to pounce for the girl and I only now thought of her thirst. Before Bella had taken a single step, a dozen guards were on her, pinning her to the tiles with enough force to crack those beneath her. Bella Swan was gone and all she was now was a hunter. A starving predator before her prey.

"Keep her at bay. It is not time for Bella to hunt, not yet." The Guard obeyed. Edward was helped to his feet by the short Seer, the two of them stared at Bella amazed. They had never seen her this way and she was much to behold.

"Ah…Valentina." The girl the guard had brought in swallowed as loud as her heart did beat. Aro smiled and looked to me. "Would you, Kai?" I nodded and beckoned the human my way with my finger. The moment she stepped shakily in front of me, I reached up and pressed two fingers to either temple and burrowed my way deep into her mind.

A human mind is fragile, easily penetrable. It was very little effort at all to break past the naturally built in wall all humans have and locate the part of her mind that controls her will; physical and mental. I wrapped her will in my own and once I had submerged it, she became mine and would be until I released her.

"Master?" I stood in wait. Aro hummed behind me before chuckling at his own thought.

"A cat!" He declared, giggling in his creepy high voice. I nodded once and embedded the command. Within seconds the girl – Valentina – was on her hands and knees and licking the back of her hand and inner arm, purring, as if she were in fact a feline creature. At this, Aro threw his head back and pointed a finger at the poor human, laughing loud enough to echo throughout the building like out of tune bells. No one else laughed. If anything, they looked more terrified than ever before. "Oh!" Aro called, "Now, a ballet dancer!" Again, I put in the command and Valentina took off pirouetting across the room. Again, Aro just laughed as if it were the most hilarious thing he had ever witnessed and not a poor girl being abused and used.

"You see? Kai can make anyone do anything he pleases," The laughter died down. "Anything." He said firmly. "Kai, take away all of her memories. Allow her to keep her basic understanding of the world, language and movement, but take away her identity."

"Yes. Master." I leaned down, touched the girl's face and did as he asked. I erased everything. Every memory. Valentina was no longer. The moment I brushed my fingertips away she gasped and fell backwards with a start, her hand flew to her mouth to hide her startled expression. Her eyes flew around the room from vampire to vampire, confused and lost.

"Where – Where am I?" She stumbled on her heels, straightening upright. "Who are you? Who, who am-"

She did not finish the sentence aloud but we all knew what she was about to say. "I…I don't know who I am?" She asked, taking us all in again. It was only this time did she register our eyes. "Your eyes!" She gasped, falling backwards. "What's wrong with your eyes!" No one answered her.

"Kai. Now…something a little more…unpleasant. Demonstrate just how painful your ability can be." I knew what he meant and though I found no pleasure in the act, I did as I was told. Again, I lifted the girl to her feet and ignored her worried cries as I embedded another thought, another command.

Pain. Absolute, inescapable pain. The likes of which Valentina had never experienced in her entire life. Within the second the human crumpled under the weight of it, screeching so loudly and so violently I could literally hear her vocal chords tearing in her throat. She clawed at her skin, at the tiles beneath her, breaking her nails off entirely. She tore clumps of hair from her head and I only intervened when the girl, who was begging for death, went to smash her skull against the ground.

Aro did not give the command but I could not allow her to go through with it. It was not out of guilt, or regret, but out of thought for Bella. I did not want the spillage of fresh blood to make her lose herself completely in this moment, of all moments. I lifted Valentina with both hands and then…I let her pass. I took away…everything. Every thought, every memory of the pain, every image. I made her blind, deaf and empty. Her heart beat but she was not alive.

She lay there with tears streaming down her face, staring into nothingness.

"Someone take her away." Aro dismissed Valentina as if she were nothing but a dead rodent stinking up the room. A guard moved forward and dragged her out of the room by the ankle and though her head hit the stone slabs on the way up and out of the throne room, the girl felt nothing. Saw nothing. Nor would she ever again. The only kindness I could do her. The only apology.

"You see" Aro continued, resting his folded hands on his stomach. "…Mordecai is extremely dangerous and extremely talented."

"Yes." Carlisle agreed, his eyes on me, judging me, fearing me. "We can see that."

"As I said, Isabella, I am offering you a choice." I turned back to Bella who was on her feet with Edward behind her, seemingly holding her still. The scent of Valentina's blood still hung in the air and without his arms around her, she may have abandoned us all to find and end her. She was clenching her teeth and holding her breath; a strong sense of self control, that girl.

"What choice?" Bella asked him, finally opening her eyes.

"My offer for you, Isabella, is this: remain here and work with Mordecai to control and eventually lower the shield that has kept many of our powers at bay in the past, and then you will allow him access to your mind where he will…re-write you. It is not that I do not enjoy your company, dear Bella." Aro said, lifting his arm as if to caress her cheek despite being on opposite sides of the room. "But I have a vision of a different Bella by my side. An older Bella, a stronger Bella. A talented Immortal who is as dangerous as she is beautiful. Mordecai can make this vision come true. If you accept this offer…you will forget yourself. You will not remember your mother, your father, your friends. You won't remember Forks or the Cullen's and dear Edward. You will be reborn a third time as someone new, someone…. spectacular."

Everyone pondered this, imagined it in their minds eye just as I had been doing since Aro had mentioned it. An entirely new person wearing her face. She would be one of us and in her mind, would believe herself to have always been one of us. A loyal guard, a friend, a daughter. She would be dark and dangerous and untameable. She would be unstoppable.

"Or…" Bella asked.

"Jane?" Aro hummed and in an instant, Edward was rolling on the ground, clenching his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut, trying his hardest to not yell out. What Jane was doing to Edward was nothing compared to the hell I had put Valentina through. Valentina had felt a combination of every pain possible, whereas Edward found himself buried in the centre of a pyre of invisible flames. Still, a horror to experience, I had heard.

"Stop! Please!" Bella growled, dropping to her knees to hold Edward in her arms.

"Let him go!" The Seer screamed, on Bella's other side along with the other Cullen's, all of which were begging Aro to release him. Suddenly Edward gasped out, freed from the fire only for Carlisle's wife to throw herself backwards, the next target of the attack. Jane switched from Cullen to Cullen, torturing each of them with fire in her eyes and a smile on her childlike face as she did so. I knew why he was doing this, he was doing it to torment Bella. To scare her.

"You either accept…or Edward will feel the flames of a real funeral pyre. Along with every member of this coven." Aro ghost across the room, moving so gracefully he appeared to be floating around us. He appeared behind Bella who had to only watch as her friends, her family, were tortured by Jane. He reached up and caressed her dirt stained cheek. "Then, once each of the Cullen's have taken their last breath, I will send for your mother and your father."

Bella's panic filled eyes widened even further and she spun on Aro whom caught her wrist in mid-air as softly as if she had held it out to him. "No! Please, please don't hurt them." She wept tearlessly. "They're not part of this, they're not part of any of this!"

"And they don't need to be!" He shook his chin slowly, acting as if he wanted nothing less than to have to involve her parents. "The choice lies with you, my dear."

Isabella looked down at the face of her lover, of her mate who was attempting to speak, to say no but his burning tongue could not form the words. "They'll all go free, safely?"

"I promise, child." Aro sang gleefully.

She closed her eyes as she spoke the words. "I'll do it."

Aro's full grin was the widest I had ever seen it. "Excellent. Jane?" The little Demon scowled but then looked away from the Cullen's, reigning in the fire and the Cullen's were suddenly free.

"No, Bella!" Edward bounced upright and went to swing for Aro, but Renata was one step ahead and Edward could move no further. He could only stare with pure hatred for my master. Bella stepped between the two of them and reached up to take Edward's face in her tiny hands.

"It's my choice." She whispered.

"That isn't a choice!" He roared, "It's an ultimatum! It's-" Bella cracked a perfect smile, shaking her head. Edward would not, could not, sway her decision. "Don't!" Edward half-yelled, cupping her face. "Don't do this, don't, Bella!"

"It's done." She said matter-of-factly. "It's the only way, Edward. I won't let anyone else get hurt because of me."

Edward pulled her towards him as the other Cullen's, fearing for their sister and daughter, gathered in. "I can't lose you again, Bella."

"I'm sorry. It'll be worse for you, I know. For me, it'll be like you never existed. Isn't that what you said you wanted for me when you left the first time? Huh?" Edward pressed their forehead's together, shaking his head angrily. "I'm so sorry, but I'd rather have you all alive with a future than dead because of me."

"And I would rather die than live in a world without you. I'm not letting you go." He then kissed her harshly on the mouth, his fingers twisted in her tangled hair. Sharing one last passionate kiss.

Something unusual happened to me in that moment, I felt an undeniable sense of…envy. I do not know what there was to be envious of. I had many sexual partners in the past, many romantic endeavours also. I had fucked and fallen for men and women from all walks of life, from countless countries and time periods, varying entirely in personality, but in that moment, standing there in that room, half-hidden behind a mask, watching Bella and Edward reunite after only a week apart and acting as if it had been a century to then say their last goodbye as she sacrificed herself for him and his memories for her; I realized for the first time I had never mated. I had never fallen in love with someone I desired to spend all of eternity with them by my side, arm in arm, hand in hand. Forever.

Aro stepped forward, butting in. "And that is why we must do what we have to." The Cullen's looked to him with confusion in their eyes. Lost still. "I promised Isabella none will be harmed, that you all will be free to return to your ordinary lives in Forks, and I intend to keep that promise. I will acquire you one day but that day is not today, not until you are ready. But I cannot allow you to remember this day, to remember this deal. So, I will have Kai alter your memories. You all will go on."

"We did not agree to this." Carlisle argued.

"Unlike Isabella, you do not have the choice." Aro nodded to the guard standing behind the Cullen's. Alec, Jane's equally as annoying twin lifted his hands and thrust them towards the Cullen's, from his palms emitted a smoke so black even we could not see through it with our enhanced sight. The smoke engulfed them all instantly and despite their attempts to flee, to fight, to yell, each of them fell to their knees before us: just as lost as Valentina had been but aware of what was to come.

Edward and Bella only parted when the smoke engulfed him and, terrified, she leapt away. Edward collapsed and went to mumble her name before his lips went numb and he too felt victim to Alec's power.

"Edward?" Bella gasped, wanting to reach for him. "What did you do?" She snarled our way.

"They are in no pain. But we had to be sure they would cooperate. Your coven, especially Edward, has a knack for making choices for you. This time, they will cooperate with your choice whether they like it or not. Kai?" I stepped forward before the Cullen's, starting with the blonde-haired male, the mate of the Seer.

"Master?" I asked.

"Go through their memories." He instructed. "And alter those of this week past. They will forget of Isabella's abduction and all memory of the attack is to be erased. Alter the timeline, make them believe Isabella Swan is dead. As you go through their history, you will learn of a red -haired female, Victoria, one of our own; to my knowledge she has a personal vendetta against our dear Isabella. Use her, make it so the Cullen's believe Victoria somehow slipped by them unnoticed and snatched Isabella's life from right under their noses. To make things easier, make it so this happened a week ago on the day we took Isabella and these past few days they have buried the mutilated remains of the poor human girl and, upon their return to Forks, will have to come up with an excuse for the human authorities and Isabella's father." Aro went on, explaining to me how there would be no body but I could make them believe there had been, make them believe that the grave stone they would soon buy would be for the living girl at my side.

I did as he asked and one by one I altered the minds and memory of the entire Olympic Coven. I went through their memories and changed them, implanted thoughts and false images and scents into their memory to make them believe Isabella Swan had been found and killed by the vampire Victoria. That they had been too late in saving her and due to how savagely Victoria had killed Bella, they had the funeral already and without anyone else present. I made them believe that they would have to come up with an excuse themselves to explain Bella's death or disappearance to her father, to others that knew of the blotchy human child.

It took me a while and it became infuriating with each memory I had to alter but when the hour was up, I had neared completion. Edward's mind was the worst to manipulate, tricking his mating bond into believing she was dead was just as tricky as it sounded.

"Mordecai?" Aro asked as he peered over my shoulder, staring into Edward's glazed over eyes, at my fingers on the bronze haired boy's temples.

"Yes, Master?"

"Edward came to us before to end his life when he thought Isabella was dead. I do not want another visit from him under similar circumstances, or to hear word of his passing any other way. I may not need him today, but his gift may still prove useful to me in the future. I want him….to want revenge. I want Edward to decide when the sun breaks the horizon tomorrow, that he will not rest until he has found and destroyed Victoria. As I understand it, she is exceptionally talented at evading death so it should make for a fun game of cat and mouse, don't you think?" I laughed along with him convincingly though I wanted only to groan.

Though as I had before, I implanted into Edward the uncontrollable need for vengeance. When Edward next see's the light of day…he will believe Bella dead and Victoria responsible. They all will. Then his final hunt would begin.

* * *

I stood on one of Volterra's few watchtowers at the edge of the city with Bella Swan by my side. The Cullen's cars raced away from the city in the far distance, barely distinguishable against the night sky. "Why do they believe they were in Volterra?" She asked as she wrapped her arms around herself, watching them go unblinkingly.

I sighed and explained what I had done. "I made them believe Aro had sent a request for them all to visit upon hearing of your 'death.' He wanted proof through their thoughts that you were really gone and they weren't trying to hide you from his knowledge. It's something he would do, something they'd expect him to do. That's why they thought they were here today, to show Aro you were dead, not to rescue you."

"I can't believe you did that to them. I mean…it sounds so complicated, to change so many thoughts, to make them believe Victoria killed me."

"It was not without great difficulty, but I did it. They will be a little off for the next few days but they'll pass it off as grief. Soon Edward's grief will become revenge and he'll set off to kill Victoria. I have no doubt the others will follow to avenge you also."

"Right." Bella said. After a long pause, she spoke again, rubbing her throat. "I never thought I'd miss being able to cry."

"You get used to it." I told her. The first but not the last lesson I would teach this newborn. "How is your throat?"

"It's killing me," She answered.

"I know you won't want to, but you'll need to hunt. Come on." I said, stepping away from the rooftop. Bella did not budge. She granted herself another minute to watch them. It had been extremely difficult for her to make her way through the city without taking in a single breath, without losing control, but she had been determined to be here for this moment.

To see the Cullen's depart from her life for the last time.

* * *

Asher's Note:

Hello Everyone! Chapter Two of this Prequel Story is here! Sorry it took me a long time to write, but I could not for the life of me figure out how to properly write out this chapter. There was so much emotion, so much tragedy and loss in this chapter that it was hard for me to get it right. I hope the result is something you will enjoy. In this chapter, we see the moment when Isabella awakens from her transformation and the Cullen's confrontation with Aro. It was not explained in the original story – not in great deal, anyway – how and why Bella chose to do this but I tried to flesh it out in this chapter. Please review and let me know what you think! P.S. - I am editing this story late at night, so if there are any mistakes please just let me know kindly and don't be a jerk about it! Thanks.

* * *

Responding to your reviews:

Goldielover: Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter also!

TheMrsDSalvatore: Thank you! I'm glad I chose to do this prequel! I hope you enjoy.

Omegaaa: Thanks! Nice to hear what you think and hope you enjoyed this one.

~Asher~


	3. Chapter 3

Mordecai's POV

* * *

She kept her eye on the horizon though the Cullen's had vanished beyond it almost seven minutes ago; she stood unflinchingly, unblinking, watching as the burnt orange of sunset cooled into the soft blue hue of dusk. A warm gust of wind brought with it the scent of human blood and I felt her stiffen at my side. Instinctively, my hand flew out and I caught her arm though she made no attempt to pursue the call of the hunt. She did however attempt to clear her throat and then cares it with her fingertips.

"You're starving." I reminded her. "You will need to hunt immediately. Come." At the mention of blood, she snapped out of her daze and turned to face me as I tugged on her arm towards the rooftops entrance. She looked so fragile, so thin and breakable though I knew she was stronger than I was now. She thought about it for a fraction of second – thought about taking a swing, making a run for it but she turned back to the rooftop and lay her palms flat against the stone railing.

"No. I won't." Biting her pink lower lip, she shook her head. "I won't kill anyone."

I tried not to but I could not help but laugh aloud at what she'd said though there was sadness behind my humour. _I won't kill._

We'd all said it at some point in our immortal lives. It was perhaps the greatest lie ever told, and that went for man and monster. She grit her teeth and her fingers hardened on the railings edge, cracking the stone beneath them. "Don't mock me. I mean it." She said in something that resembled a growl. Coming across as threatening was something she would also need to learn.

The sad thing was that I could tell Bella _did_ mean it and that's what made it pitiful as well as amusing.

"Don't kid yourself, Bella. Do not make promises to yourself you have no say in keeping. Otherwise you will hate yourself that much more when the time comes to break them." She ought to have trusted me on this at least. I spoke from experience. "Please, come along. Aro will not be pleased if he has to send someone to forcibly fetch you."

It was her turn to laugh. Short and filled with astonishment rather than humour. "I couldn't care less what pleases Aro!" She exclaimed. "If anything, I'm going to go out of my to piss him off."

I rolled my eyes. "Is that so?"

"It is." She turned back to the rooftop.

"Very well. But may I warn you than in doing so you would be sentencing anyone you have ever loved to a long and excruciating death." Her shoulders loosened and her hands dropped to her side. "Aro may desire Edward and Alice for himself one day but he would have no quarrels in killing the other Cullen's. Not to mention your mother and father. Even any friends you may have had would suffer just so he could prove a point."

I could tell she was seeing the faces of her loved ones in her head, or maybe those loved ones meeting their end by Aro's hand. She mulled over the possibility and the devastation she would cause if she refused me again. I held out my hand to her now. "Bella?" Only a few seconds passed before a deep, grumbling sound burst through her clenched teeth and she brushed past me in a blur. She crashed into the stairwell but found her footing quickly, making her grand exit less grand. She would need to learn to control her speed and her strength too.

And I had the pleasure of being the one to tutor her.

* * *

We were back beneath the city a minute before we were found by the guard and 'Escorted' back to the throne room where the Trio were eagerly awaiting our return. We approached the tall ancient doors to find them blocked off by none other than Jane. Bella glared daggers at the girl – it appeared she loathed her as deeply as I.

"Thank you, boys." She said in her child-like voice. Despite her clear dismissal, the other members of the guard – both higher and lower ranking – did not dare leave. The immortals remained surrounding Bella and I as a precaution. Either they had been ordered to stay behind by Aro or they genuinely feared for the safety of their masters. Courtesy of Chelsea, no doubt.

"You took your time." She said to Bella as she passed, not fearing to get too close to the Newborn everyone else feared. "Our masters do not like to be kept waiting."

"I was saying goodbye to my family for the last time." Bella said by way of explanation. "But you wouldn't know about family."

Jane's smile faltered but she did not move. Her hands, however, we balled into small fists. She was attempting – straining – to cast her flaming illusion over the girl. Both Bella and I realized this at the same time and she smiled down at the demon.

"Jane." I warned, stepping between the two. "Would you delay our masters further with mindless squabble out here?" I cared not for our masters – let them wait. But if I had not intervened then Bella would maybe have attacked. I also cared not for the safety of the child vampire (a fight between the two would be quality entertainment, honestly) but ultimately Bella would be the one to walk away alive. Jane had been foolish enough to rely on her power these past centuries and was next to useless in a physical battle and if Aro were to lose one of his most valued Guard's then he would take it out on Bella and I both. She for delivery the killing blow and I for allowing it to happen.

"Dimitri." Jane said and the gangly, straw-haired vampire who's usually positon was to stand guard to the throne room did his job and opened the doors. Jane turned and lead the way. I snapped my fingers at Bella and she scowled at me.

"Remember to bow when you reach the dais." She did not respond in any way.

Our Trio of Masters were once again seated in their thrones across the room, appearing almost as if they had never left. Renata and the other personal guards stood in allotted points throughout the room; those whom had escorted guarded the exit and the archway leading to the antechambers and further into the heart of the Volturi. When we reached the middle of the room, Jane and I dropped in sync with one another.

Bella didn't.

Jane's knee had barely touched the tiled ground before she shot back up. Her name was on the edge of my tongue but before I could say a word she struck. Bella's shoulders hunched a second before Jane made the blow but she was not yet accustomed to her new senses and that included her ability to sense when danger was near. Jane's small hand slammed into Bella's spine between her shoulder blades and the force of the impact had sent the Newborn tumbling across the tiles until she reached our masters feet. The moment she hit the ground she rolled onto her behind and roared up at Jane with fire and fury burning in her eyes.

"You were told to bow and you didn't." Jane said simply, as if bored but we all knew she was having a delightful time.

"You didn't give her a chance." I argued in favour of Bella as I rose to my feet. I considered offering a hand but that would be going to far, especially in front of Aro. Jane did not bother to look my way.

"When you come back our Masters you will kneel and you will bow. You will show them respect."

I glanced up at our masters to assess their reactions; Caius was beaming with joy at the sad sight before him, just as I knew he would be. Aro, probably the cruellest of us all just clasped his hands together, titled his head an inkling to the side and tutted to himself.

"Jane, Isabella will come to learn our ways in due time. You mean well but have patience with her." Jane nodded but kept her features plain. She was not pleased with his reaction.

"Yes, Master." She would not be stupid enough to show a hint of rebellion in her.

"It's called tough love, brother." Caius almost sang. "She will not learn if we do not teach her from the start."

Aro did not respond to his brother but gave him a hard look. A warning to keep his mouth shut if he wanted to keep it attached to the rest of his jaw. Aro may come across eerily pleasant but on the inside, he was just of much a monster as the rest of us. He leaned back in his throne, his fingertips tapping slowly against the end of his wooden arm rest.

"Do you regret your choice?" Aro asked. suddenly Not me, but Bella. She looked from him to me, as if I had any input. I broke our eye contact and faced our masters. Bella waited only a second further before saying. "If giving up my life means keeping Edward and his family safe, then no I don't regret my decision." Aro smiled, pleased with the answer he got. "But I never really had a choice. If I had refused you there would have been a fight. Then they would've died for me. It was either they go and I stay, or we all die."

"Some would have chosen the latter." Marcus spoke, earning surprised looks from us all. "Some would say it is better to die at the side of your mate than to be separated by death. You chose life over him."

"I chose to keep him alive. To keep them all alive." She was getting defensive.

"It is not really living when the one you live for is dead." Bella dropped her arms and considered Marcus' eyes. He looked back into hers.

"It has been a long day." Aro said suddenly, cutting off whatever was happening between Bella and Marcus that had caused Marcus to not only speak but engage in an actual conversation. And the topic in which they discussed was not one Aro wanted to listen to, especially considering the circumstances. Aro had his sister – and the mate of Marcus, Didyme – killed as to keep Marcus a part of this coven as his gift was far more useful to Aro's cause than his sisters. Her death had left Marcus in this state of disarray, to live a life without passion or love. Just as Bella would soon do. Just as her Edward would soon do. "I think it best we all take our leave and rest, and dearest Isabella. You still need to hunt. You will need to feed. Then you will be taken to your quarters, I'll have a messenger inform Kai on where they are when you have finished feeding."

"What shall I do about her first hunt?" I asked seemingly uninterested in anything.

"Just send a handful of our less desirable human friends to the dungeons and let her loose. It's not what I imagined for Isabella's first kill but she has yet to prove herself trustworthy of leaving the city, and time is short as it is. You do not have long to train her Mordecai so I should think you would want her as strong as she possibly can be when you begin tomorrow at dawn."

"Of course, Master. It will be done."

"Then I believe it is time for us to take our leave." He said. In sync, he and his brothers rose. I tugged on Bella's arm and she dropped to her knees without question as our masters prepared to leave. Aro lead his two brothers towards the antechamber without another word. Bella took a single step and built up the courage to speak.

"Wait, Aro- Uh – Master…" We could all tell she hated the word. She would learn to speak it without the disdain in her voice. We all did. Caius and Marcus stopped to look back at Bella. Aro – who was probably reeling on the fact she'd called him Master – took his time to slowly turn to face us both.

"Yes, my child?"

"I want to ask. Can…can I please just feed from the girl? The one he-" She spat my way "-tortured earlier. Valentina. Please, let me feed from her. She's already dead inside."

Aro mulled it over for a minute. Or pretended to.

"I'm afraid not, my dear. You said it yourself, she's already dead inside. She won't feel a thing and neither would you. Your first kill must mean something. I want you to experience every euphoric moment of it."

"Please!" She cried out again when he went to turn. "As…as a sign of good faith?"

Caius laughed and even Aro cracked a smile. "I granted a sign of good faith in not burning your loved ones to ash." Then he and his brothers walked away.

"Bastard." She swore at him straight to his face. I took a step in her direction and grabbed the back of her neck, hauling her to her feet. I applied a little pressure and she cried out. I had seen the way her fingers curled into claws, how every muscle in her almost bare back had tensed and flexed in preparation to pounce.

"Don't." I growled. She glared up at me with fire in her eyes, hesitation and temptation showing through her features. "Do it and you'll regret it." I added. I tried to convey with my eyes what I meant and _who_ exactly would suffer the consequences. She must have thought back to our conversation on the rooftop as she doused the fire in her veins and relaxed.

"Oh, and Bella?" Aro called through the chamber. She looked back at him. "I do believe you'll come to find peace in this place. One day you will thank me for giving you this opportunity." Aro hadn't even bothered to stop. He'd left the room with his brothers at his side. Bella looked back to the tunnel they'd left through for only a second further before she let go of the rage and turned to face me.

"He's a monster."

"We are all monsters here. Including you."

* * *

When we left the throne room and the confrontation with our masters behind, we were met in the corridor by a female guard with long silver hair whom had come to escort Bella the long way around to the dungeons whilst I took a shortcut to ensure that her dinner would be there waiting for her. I sent off for half a dozen human servants to meet me in the marble corridor beneath ground, the one leading to the their deaths. It wasn't long before I heard their heartbeats and footsteps, and I felt the warmth of their lives on the back of my neck as they approached.

"You sent for me, Sir?" Asked the human leading the group approaching. If memory served – which it always did – the human boys name was Daniel. Or ought 'Man' be a better word? He was after all, in his late forties now. Much time had passed since he had first joined us, a boy no older than seventeen. He had high hopes of being one of the lucky few Aro would allow to be turned but unbeknownst to him then, turning the help was something Aro was beginning to lose interest in. Unfortunately for Daniel, by the time this came to light he was already bound to our coven. He knew too much. He had a choice. Die or work on for us a human…until you die. Which was going to be soon. He was on the verge of dying, the disease now commonly known as Cancer ate away at his immune system. He did not have very long left at all. Which was partly why I had chosen him to be Bella Swan's first real kill.

"Yes, Daniel. Aro would like for you to prepare one of the cells in the dungeon for our newest addition." A lie. One he fell for without question. I wondered if it was due to his believing that Aro would thank him for his services by saving him from his terminal illness by turning him. I knew Aro would not. He would continue to allow the human to think that until his dying breath. Cruel Bastard.

"Of course. Anything for our Master." Daniel said. He instructed the others to follow him and they did without question. Most of them had spent years cleaning up after my kind and fully believed that one day their efforts would be repaid with immortality. I knew they believed this wholeheartedly as in the past there had been those who'd changed their mind too late and I'd been called in to bind them to this coven. To make them follow our rules and our laws without even a hint of rebellion in their souls. Such had been the case with every new addition since.

I held open the door and the humans made their way down the stairwell and continued along to her cell, speaking quietly to one another. It wasn't long before they started filling the cell with blankets and relighting the lanterns on the walls. As if on que, Bella appeared around the corner with woman who'd taken her from me.

"Are you ready for this?" I asked.

"Is anyone ever ready?" She countered.

"Good point."

"There are people down there?" She asked, not taking a step forward or back.

"Yes." I answered, "Sent down there on a fool's errand. Usually any Newborn we add to our coven is willing – on the most part – and travel with a select handful of our guard to leave the city in order to complete their first hunt. Though Aro does not yet trust you to leave the walls of this city without attempting to make a spectacle of yourself or make a run for it. So, Lucky you, you get home delivery."

"I can't." She shook her head and stepped away until her back hit the marble wall. I felt the guard prepare to move but I lifted my hand to stop her.

"Give me a minute alone with her." I said.

"I don't think that's a good idea." The woman – her name was Marcella, I believed – argued.

I rolled my eyes. I wasn't stupid or weak. I knew more than most of them did. If anyone could keep Bella confined within these walls then it was I. And I didn't like being looked down on by lower members of the guard who were only living because someone had to watch over the wives. I lifted my hand and tapped the tips of my fingers against the side of her face. Her eyes widened but she could not move.

"Go. Collect some of the others to return with you to protect this door, and send others to ensure the other exits are all sealed off and watched."

She nodded and walked away without a second thought.

"You're terrifying." Bella whispered to me.

"Thank you. Now, if you please?" I heaved open the door and beckoned down the stone, spiralling stairwell. The lantern on the wall was now lit, the flickering flame casting shadows across her face yet her brilliantly red eyes still shone through. Almost as if they were a light source of their own. I beckoned through the door again. She didn't move.

"I can't." She argued, spinning to me. That confident woman had vanished and in her place stood a terrified girl.

"You must. Aro was right. You need to be strong if we're going to start your training as early as tomorrow." It was true. We had barely any time at all to complete a task that could possibly take her months if not a year to achieve. The only hope I had in her being able to accomplish such a task was in the fact she had been a shield before her transformation – despite knowing it or not – and that she was a newborn. Newborn's were not only stronger than the mature vampire physically, but mentally also.

"No. I said I can't. I won't hurt them. Can you do something to them? Can you take away their pain?" She asked, choking on her words.

"What?"

"Like you did with Valentina. Can you take away their thoughts and feelings? Make it so they don't feel it when they die. Make is so they don't get scared when they see me coming." I considered it for a moment. It would have made it easier on everyone involved. The humans had worked hard for this coven and did not deserve to die in such a brutal, unforgiving way. Bella's conscience would also be clean knowing those she had killed had not seen her coming nor felt it when she tore them to shreds with her bear hands. Speaking of tearing someone to shreds, the image of Aro doing that very thing to I came to mind.

"I can and I can't." I said.

"That doesn't make sense."

"Yes, it does. I can do that. I could make them pass away peacefully but I can't do that because if I did then Aro would punish us both." One brow arched higher than the other. As if to say _So what?_ "I said no. Listen carefully, Bella. No Newborn with a sense of the person they once were wants to kill. There are few throughout history whom have gone without ever tasting a single drop of human blood but I'm afraid you aren't fortunate to be one of them. You don't get that chance. Or a choice. Those humans are going to die one way or another. Either by illness or old age but most probably by another vampire but instead it would be someone who finds joy in watching the life bleed from their eyes. They all asked to be a part of this world. They knew the risks. Now they have to pay the price for not being what Aro desired."

"Please!" She begged tearlessly, gripping onto my shirt. Her nails now sharp enough to tear through the cotton. She spared a moment to look down at her hands in surprise. I would have bet that as a human she would have struggled to tear something other than paper, and now she found herself with the strength to tear through a mountain if she wished. I let out a sigh and poked a finger through one of the holes she had made and wiggled it.

"Thank You, Bella."

"Please, don't make me do this." She said, ignoring me. "I don't want to hurt anyone." She had her back to the doorway now. I took a step forward as she took a reluctant one back.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice in the matter. And neither do I."

"You do! You could let me go! Say I fought free, I'm strong enough now! You could let me get away. You could give me a chance!"

"If I let you free I would be risking exposing our kind to the citizens of Volterra and that I cannot allow." Another point to add to the list of many reasons to not allow her to be set free.

"I won't hurt them! I'll just go!"

"You may have a strong sense of self control but no Newborn is able to walk through an entire city of humans and not lose control."

"I am!" Another step forward and another step back.

"You needn't worry, Isabella. You needn't worry about hurting anyone, or killing, or your Edward and his siblings. You needn't worry about anything at all because by months' end, you won't remember anything at all." What I did next was perhaps a bit harsh but I knew she wouldn't be expecting it. So, I took a step back then slammed my foot into the centre of her chest. Her face barely had time to register the attack before the force behind the blow lifted her clean off her feet and she flew backwards down the stairwell with a screech.

Before she hit the bottom, I'd locked the door and bolted it with chains made from the strongest metal known to man. In half a second she slammed against the other side of the door and admittingly I almost lost my footing. Even for a Newborn she was strong and I found myself straining to keep the door together, let alone closed. "Let me out!" She roared. Marcella soon returned with a handful of men whom took my spot and stood guard outside the door.

"Please, Mordecai, please." It was the first time she'd used my name and it sounded pleasant despite the horror in which she spoke. "Please, help me. Let me go."

"If I helped you in any way then Caius would have both of our heads burning on a pike before nightfall."

There was a long pause before her sobbing stopped. Her voice hardened. "Then let me burn."

I could hear the humans talking below, asking one another what that noise was. They were wondering if the immortal members of the guard were bringing Bella down before they had finished preparing her cell. After a few moments, when I heard a distraught Bella slowly making her way throughout the tunnels, convinced no one was going to help her, the humans begun to realise they had been played. It wasn't much longer before Bella let out a scream of uncontrollable rage and desperation and she set off hunting the humans. The massacre could be heard throughout the entire building, the gut-wrenching sounds of the humans being gutted. The splash of warm blood on the ground, the shattering of bones, the tearing of skin and muscle; their short screams on top of that.

It lasted barely five minutes at the most. Quick but efficient. I only knew when it had ended because there were no longer any heartbeats coming from the tunnel.

After another full minute, I heard her start crying, that's when I knew she'd banished the blood-thirsty demon within and her morality and humanity had surfaced. I strained as I snapped the chains and pulled open the door. She did not rush to meet me or attack or try to escape. She remained wherever she was, sobbing into her hands by the sound of it. Marcella and the other guards gave me a look, one to say, 'Be cautious' but I frowned at them and shook my head. An indication for them to stay.

Slowly, I made my way down towards her. Step by step. The smell of blood hung in the air, a tangy coppery taste on my tongue. It made the hunter within writhe and stir, wondering if it was time to surface already but I had enough strength and self-control to convince it otherwise. Still, I held my breath and continued carefully. My boots splashed in puddles of blood, the walls were stained with streaks of it. Body parts were thrown absent-mindedly about the place. To say she had been opposed to killing she really had done a number on them. She was crouched in the same corner of the same cell she had been in yesterday when she'd first awoke from her transformation. Though she looked much worse off now than she had done then. The potato sack dress she wore was drenched in blood. It was soaking in it so much it dripped from the bottom of her

Her hands were resting on her knees; also, red with blood. She didn't look up when I entered the cell.

"Get away from me." A warning my instincts yelled at me to listen to yet I stepped further into the room. She leapt at me again but she was young and untrained. Her brute strength might've been enough to kill me but I had centuries of war under my belt. It was almost too easy to dismiss her blow and pin her to the wall with her wrists bound behind her back. Within the second the other guards were in the room and came to aid me in keeping the raging newborn at bay – not that I'd needed their help.

"I told you to wait."

"And our master told us to keep a watchful eye on her every move." One of them argued. Together they heaved her up and practically dragged her back through the door to her cell and down the hall. I tore my eyes away from her bare, filthy feet as her toes were dragged through the bloody sludge.

We made our way quickly back through the upper floors of our home but we were met on the way by a human subjugate. One I couldn't remember the name of but recognized his face. Pretty, for a human. He would have made for an even more alluring immortal. One I would have happily invited to warm my bed. But from the look on his petrified face he was in no mood to be flirted with; he forgot his purpose and remained silent as he took in the girl I held. Bloodshed and gore had been something I had become accustomed too. I'd seen plenty of war and plenty of death in my time. It was not something you ever made peace with or forgot but something that became easier to stomach after centuries. Of course, there was the alternative, to be the one creating the bloodshed and gore rather than the one watching it.

"I'm assuming you want something?" Asked Marcella.

Her voice was high and grating. Like claws on a chalkboard. Nonetheless, it snapped the human boy from his trance and he mumbled to find the words.

"M-Master sent me to-to give this to you-" He addressed me with a nod of his head. His throat bobbed once, risking a glance at Bella whom hadn't bothered to lift her gaze from the marble flood and the small puddle the blood dripping from her fingertips was making. The human held out a folded sheet of parchment but dared not to take a step further. I reached out and took it from him, flipping open the paper with my thumb.

"It's the address of your chambers." At this she looked up to me and the paper I swiftly folded into my pocket. "It's just across the courtyard. I know the place. Thank you, boy." I said, dismissing him with the jerk of my chin. He nodded, grateful for the dismissal and opportunity to leave and get as far away from Bella.

"I'll take it from here. Those of you who are free go about your business. Those of you who aren't report to your stations. Those of you selected to stand guard outside Isabella's quarters are to scout ahead and familiarize yourself with the building and its escape routes. There is a tunnel beneath a grate in the entrance leading to the underground garage on the west, if I remember correctly. Ensure it is closed off." They did not appreciate being ordered about by someone who very barely outranked them. And I only did so because of my ability. It was far too powerful to be lost.

It was only Bella and I left. I wondered if she'd perhaps try and make a run for it but she made no objections when I ushered her towards the elevator at the end of the corridor. In the bright white light of the elevator, she shone out more. The blood staining her was a more vibrant shade of red, contrasting against the alabaster white of her skin. She caught me staring and crossed her arms over her chest. I only now remember how naked she was. Her rags were just that, rags, her feet and legs were bare. Her modesty covered by a dirty sheet of cloth. "You will be able to bathe in your chambers."

"I didn't realize I'd get my own chambers?" She said once we were alone though I'd no doubt she knew the others could still hear. I nodded. This seemed to really surprise her. I wondered if she had really thought Aro would have sent her back to the dungeons. He did seem the type. The answer to that question became apparent to me in the way she held herself.

"Of course. You are a member of this coven now Bella and will be treated as such. Seen as though you are not Aro's biggest fan at this moment in time, the smarter move would have been for you to spend your free time in the seclusion of a guarded cell beneath ground but Aro wants for you to feel welcomed in this place and hopes one day you will start to see it as a home."

She laughed at this. "Home? He's delusional." The elevator doors opened with a ring and she followed me through the entrance of the clocktower. We still smelled the Cullen's mixed scents, clinging to the thin tapestries and oil paintings hanging on the walls.

It was past dark now so the courtyard beyond was empty. The citizens of Volterra may have believed they'd rid their city of our kind centuries ago – they may have even allowed themselves to forget we were real in the first place – but they were not stupid enough to wonder the cobblestone streets alone at night.

She walked with her hand on the wall; her bloody fingerprints drawing lines on the peach coloured walls. I pulled her hand away and she snatched it back. As we passed the fountain she dropped back to caress the water's surface. Her nose twitched and I caught a hint of a smile on the edge of her lips. There one second, gone the next. "So that's what water smells like?" I didn't answer but didn't rush her either. It was going to take time for her to settle into this new world. She let her head drop back and then looked up to the stars in awe. This time she made no effort in hiding her amazement and this time I couldn't blame her. The night sky was beautiful in our eyes. The stars shone so brightly and with a whole multitude of colours – I wondered when she'd noticed the 8th colour we now could see.

She started to cry again, probably begging for tears for the first time her life but not receiving.

"Come along, Bella." I said after almost a full minute. She just nodded and continued along with me. Unbelievably the quarters Aro had assigned to Bella were a great deal nicer than my own. They were in the top two floors of the building across the courtyard from the clocktower. Once inside we found a spiralling stone stairwell curving throughout the building to a set of closed wooden doors.

"Welcome to your new home." I said, pushing them open and leading the way through.

"Whoa." She muttered, probably not realizing she'd made the sound aloud. I agreed with her sentiment. The room beyond was two stories high; the walls made of stone the colour of ash and clay. It was much like my own in the sense that it circular and very spacious. To the left, against the back wall, was a grand marble fireplace. The same colour and texture as our master's ancient skin, though the coals were not lit and had not been in some time from the thick layer of dust coating them.

I flicked a switch built into the wall, walked into the centre of the room and stood directly beneath an iron chandelier that flickered but eventually came to life. "When electricity became popular in the late eighteen hundreds, Aro had the candles replaced with bulbs and a wiring circuit added to most of the buildings in Volterra." I heard a scrap and spun to find Bella's fingers caressing a standing candelabra by balcony which overlooked the courtyard. "Of course, there will still be candles and lanterns about the place, especially beneath the city." She shrugged. "And all of the plumbing works." I pointed to the single wooden door in the right-hand corner of the room. "Apart from the toilet but you will no longer be needing one anyway."

"What's in there?" She asked, pointing to another single door by the entrance. She pulled it open and peered in. From my spot behind her I could see shelves and empty hangers. A few old, dusty boxes.

"Your closet. It's empty but I have no doubt will be full soon enough."

"I'm not that kind of girl."

"Not yet."

A muscle flexed in her jaw.

She didn't like that and I tried to hide my smile. I sauntered over to a stone archway built into the wall on the left-hand side of the room, just past the fireplace. It was sectioned off by a black veil curtain. I parted it and she stepped forward to see.

"A bed?" She asked. I nodded. A smaller room furnished with a four-poster iron bed. The bed was made and probably had been by a servant decades ago. The air in here was stale – and heavy. No one had been in here in a long time, other than the humans sent up to bring Bella a few things. I nodded to the few carboard boxes atop the white duvet. (Or it had once been white. Years of gathering dust had turned it ashen grey)

"There's fresh clothing in those boxes, enough to last you the week." I pulled open the box and smiled. "Dalia's packed you a few books also."

"Dalia?"

"A human. She ensures the other humans we rule over don't try anything stupid. She's a mother figure to them, I suppose. She was the one to bring you food whilst you were kept in the dungeon this past week."

Her eyes widened a fraction of an inch at the memory. "I remember, I think. Remembering my human memories – it's blurry."

"It'll seem that way for a while. You'll be able to remember more in time." I said, closing the boxes and heading back into the main room. I made my way to the fireplace, picked up an old box of matches, struck one, then begun making a fire to make the place feel a little warmer. "But your human memories will always remain darker than your immortal ones." I spun to find her not facing me – a stupid move. She would need to learn to never turn your back on someone you don't trust. Especially in this place. Though perhaps she'd already realized that if Aro wanted her and her ability so desperately then she was in no real danger from anyone in his guard.

"By now you should have noticed there's no furniture at all besides the bed. No one bothered furnishing the place as no one knew whether or not you'd survive the day."

"That's morbid."

"Indeed. As the days go on I'll send up some of the servants with your things. Have them build them for you."

"Humans?"

"Yes. But don't worry. You've fed enough tonight to last you a few weeks."

"Right."

"Soon enough this place will be full of random things. When Aro has me – has me change you, he'll want me to make you believe these quarters have been yours for a long time, I presume. When that time comes, I'll be sure to go through your new belongings and attach memories to them. So, you have things in here that mean something to you. That have sentimental value."

"But they won't, really."

"Physically, No. They'll all be brand new. But in your mind, they'll be heirlooms you've gathered over your time. Precious trinkets and things you've come to care for. He'll send up some older things too. Jewels and treasures. Clothing from all eras', dating as far back as – well – whenever he decides the new you was turned into a vampire. I'll be sure to make it convincing when April comes."

She didn't seem to be listening now. Not anything I said and I wondered why I was still bothering. Then she moved towards the bathroom. I waited a second and was about to make my leave but I heard her gasp and my curiosity got the better of me. Though the door to the bathroom was open I knocked on the frame anyway.

"What?" She sighed. I peered inside to find Bella leaning against the duty sink basin, the bronze taps were running though she paid no attention to the water but instead the mirror above it. I realized this was the first time she was seeing herself since long before her transformation.

"It'll take some getting used too. Seeing her, expecting to see yourself. Soon they will become one in the same."

"I didn't think I could get any pallor. I look like I'm made of bone." Her eyes were on…well her eyes. She was staring at her reflection intensely. Some part disgusted and some part fascinated by the exquisite beauty before her. After a short while I stood a little straighter.

"I'll leave you to clean. We'll meet again at dawn. Don't come looking for me, I'll come to collect you. If you need anything then ask the guard stationed at your door." We'd both heard him arrive but hadn't bothered to acknowledge him. I turned and headed for the door but she followed.

"So, what do I do now?" She asked, dropping her arms to her sides with a slap. "Just stay in here? I don't sleep."

"These are your chambers now, Bella. Everything in here belongs to you. There are still a few boxes in your closet for you to rummage through and if nothing in here peaks your interest then request something and it will be brought to you. I suggest you try and relax because tomorrow we start your training and I promise you it will not be easy. If you think you hate me now, just you wait."

* * *

Asher's Note:

Hello Everyone! Chapter three of my Prequel Story is here! This chapter was not as long, nor was it as thrilling, as I had hoped when planning it but I hope it suffices for what it needs to be. In this chapter, Bella watches the Cullen's leave and she returns with Kai to the clocktower where she is then sent to the dungeons to engage in her first hunt – and first kill. She then is shown her chambers – the same chambers she lives in at the beginning of Remember A Love Long Lost – and is left to contemplate the horrors of her new life. I hope to hear what you think and if there is anything you would like to see in the upcoming chapters of this story. Thanks a lot for reading!

* * *

Responding to your reviews:

Goldielover: Thanks for reviewing! Yeah - I tried to play up the actual love between Bella and Edward in this world. I tried to make it seem as if they truly were mates and weren't just lovebirds who rushed into things. I do hope I don't make any mistakes when it comes to the timeline and events but hopefully it should work. Thanks for reviewing!

~Asher~


	4. Chapter 4

Mordecai's POV

* * *

I wish I could say I cared of what Isabella Swan thought of me but in truth, I could not have possibly cared less. Hers was just another name to add to a long list of Aro's victims. Just another innocent soul corrupted by his immorality. Did I pity the Newborn? Yes. Of course. Just as I pitied every member of this coven – or even more so, every person in this city. They – no, _we_ – were all pawns in Aro's endless game of chess. And there was nothing to be done about it. Sure enough, some of the guards adored to be living this life but others – myself included – did not. We played our part and tried to make the best of what we had, because we were in no position to reach for anything further.

Bella would come to realize that in time. Then as more time passes she will come to either accept it or face the alternative: death. If she were so lucky. Those of us whom simply refused to accept that this is was our new life usually received a visit from myself of Chelsea and the problem went away. Sick, manipulative and monstrous. Not that anyone cared.

As I turned the corner into the courtyard, I heard doors open from above and turned to find Bella stood on the balcony she luckily owned, glaring down at me with boiling hatred in her eyes. We both detected movement from beneath the balcony and there, lurking in the shadows, was a stationed guard. His flaming eyes glowing in the darkness was the only indication of his presence. He looked up and met my eyes and nodded.

I gave a nod back with the jerk of my chin to commend a lower-ranking guard stationed at his position, prepared to spring into action if Bella dared to try anything stupid. This didn't seem to please Bella. I could hear her gritting her teeth before storming back inside and slamming the balcony doors shut. With a shake of my head, I continued back to the clocktower and my chambers which lay beneath.

My chambers were nowhere near as grand as some others in Volterra, but I had come to adore them. They were the one place in this God-forsaken city I could escape too. The one place I could drop the mask I had worn every day for centuries passed just to blend in, to allude to be the monster they believed me to be.

My chambers were my sanctuary, my holy place, and no one dared approach them…which was why I was furious when I found Heidi leaning almost seductively – as if she'd repositioned herself upon hearing my approach – against my front door.

"Heidi." I said, "What can I do for you?" I was not in the mood for this. Heidi. She was stunning, of course, with a slender frame but with curves in all the best places. But it bored me. She dropped her head back and her open-collared dress shifted over her shoulder, her hair spilling over her collarbone like ink.

"Oh, I could sit here and answer that question for all eternity."

I tried not to roll my eyes. "I'll rephrase the question: why are you blocking my door and wasting my time."

"We're immortal, Kai, we don't follow the rules of time-"

" _Heidi._ "

With a roll of her ruby eyes and a defeated sigh, she crossed her arms across her chest – pushing up her breasts as she did. "I'm beginning to bore with the familiar walls of my chamber and thought I could spend this evening admiring yours."

I couldn't help but snort. "Thank you for the offer of your company but, once again, I am not interested."

"Are you sure?" She leaned in closer and cupped my cheek in her hand. Her carefully pointed nails caressing my earlobe.

I could sense the allure surrounding me, enveloping me almost as if it radiated from her physically but my ability allowed for me to be, in a unique way, shielded from her own. The invasive way her power worked was that it affected the mind; it bends one's perception of beauty and alters what they are attracted to physically. Suddenly a homosexual would find themselves craving to touch her as deeply as any unaffected straight man. Although my sway over mind and memory allowed me to keep my wits about myself. I could feel my attraction for her growing, could feel the pull to wrap my arm around her waist and stick my tongue down her throat but it was exactly this kind of…forced abuse – this essential rape – that gave me the sheer willpower to refuse her time and time again.

I reached up and removed her hand from my face. "I am positive. Goodnight."

The moment I entered my chambers I locked the door behind me, bolting it shut. I knew they were useless against my own, but it still induced a sense of security and of privacy. A lie. A false sense, mind you, but a sense all the same. I heard Heidi grinding her teeth as she tried – and failed – to convince me she was not disappointed by my answer as she walked away to find someone else to fuck – probably Dimitri, he was always in the mood.

The entrance to my chambers was made up of one long, narrow corridor with several doors on either side leading off to separate rooms. The bathroom, the closet, and my study; the corridor opened into my large and circular bedroom. My chambers were deep beneath the surface of Volterra, meaning I had no windows or natural light which I did not care for all those years ago when I first chose my chambers, but the decision had been made solely on the fact they were the farthest from anyone else. Down the hall from the great library Aro had built over the years and only one floor above the lowest and darkest place in all Volterra, the dungeons.

I never thought to mention to Bella Swan that my chambers were on this floor when we had passed by earlier in the evening. I had noticed her head had tilted in the direction of my door, probably as she caught onto my lingering scent - but she hadn't spoken or addressed it.

I wasted no time and showered immediately, washing away the smell of blood and shame. For some reason, my mind kept drifting back to the newborn – or more specifically, the task Aro had given me. I had a month to train her in not only our ways as vampires but to master her psychic shield until she could lower it completely…only for me to erase Bella Swan as an identity and create someone new entirely.

I decided to try and not let it ruin what little time I had to myself. One would think an immortal would have no need to worry about time. All we had was time. And once I had believed that too but no longer did. When in the walls of my own chambers I could drop the mask I wore day in and out and be myself. I did not need to smile when I heard the horrifying screams coming from the dungeons, I did not have to laugh at my master's sick jokes and pretend as if my only joy in life came from taking life from others. I played the part of the monster and I played it well but only because my only other option was death.

But not here, not in these walls. It was in this small room – I thought as I walked naked into my main chamber – that I could find momentary release from the nightmare I lived in.

I did not bother drying myself after washing. The lit fireplace and the warmth emitting from it would dry me soon enough. I lay down on the black, leather couch and flicked on the television hanging above it. The television and my cell phone were perhaps the only modern pieces of technology in my home. Believe or not, the vampires in the Volturi – our masters and the Wives included – liked to keep up to date on all things new. They splashed out and bought anything they were even slightly curious about no matter how expensive. Televisions and computers and cell phones and fancy cars and a whole bunch of other shit I didn't care about. I didn't know why, but I just couldn't give a shit when it came to that stuff. I was content- well, what passes for content in this shithole of a life – with my privacy and my music.

I adored music.

I adored music and had spent my long-life learning to play one instrument after the other. Despite keeping up to date with the advancements of the modern world, one luxury my masters tended to avoid these days was music. It was rare to hear music in Volterra – or more specifically the clocktower and any other part of the land the members of the Volturi guard owned. They played music in the streets during festivals and at restaurants on a night, but it was almost as if the vampires in this coven acted as if music was beneath them. Once upon a time, they had adored the expressive arts: music, theatre and art but today it seemed to be beneath them, almost as if it made them appear weak.

But not me. The arts were one of few ways to escape this hell hole.

I flew across the room and switched on my music player and immediately felt my shoulders loosen as it played. It was a modern-day cover of a symphony written centuries ago. One the youth of today would scoff at just as I would at their tastes in music. Other than the speaker, television and my cell phone, I did not have too many luxuries in my chamber. It was true I had money and lots of it, but my closet was not filled with diamonds and gems and other priceless jewels and treasures. When you have everything you need and want, money becomes somewhat worthless.

Usually, immortals lived one of two lives. A life of austerity or a life of luxury. Nomads – immortals who roamed everywhere and anywhere on a whim, with no true purpose other than to feed and have a good time – often lived the former. But as for the Volturi and everyone in it, we lived a life of glamour and opulence. Each of us – even the human subjugates we ruled over and ordered around, those we used as _cattle_ – had enough riches to last them centuries.

And the humans wouldn't even live long enough to enjoy them.

Such macabre thoughts, I realized. I wasn't sure why at the time, but it was almost as if what had happened with Bella had stirred up old feelings I had spent decades burying. I hadn't spent more than a minute mellowing in my eternal loneliness in a long time. I had long since accepted it and moved on to attempting to enjoy the positive parts of my cursed existence, as few and far between as they were.

Deciding I needed to distract myself, I reached beneath my couch and withdrew a sketchpad. Music was not the only art I favored. I had drawn since I had been old enough to hold a pencil, and still to this day, I drew. I liked the way the pencil seemed to fit so perfectly between my fingers and my thumb. I liked how all it took was a pencil and a canvas and that I, a monster, could be responsible for the creation of something beautiful.

I didn't know what I would draw, but I drew anyway. I let the pencil take control and allowed the charcoal lines to swirl across the page at will. It was the only thing I could think to do to distract myself, to relax and I was determined to do just that as I had only a few short hours before dawn when my first training session with Bella would begin.

With Bella on the mind, she became the first subject of my drawing.

* * *

The following morning, as I ascended the tower to Bella's chambers, I heard light feet bounding across the stone. The guard stationed outside her door looked mostly amused. She was up to something.

"Bella?" I rapped my knuckles against the door as I leaned in. There was no answer. "I am coming in whether you answer the door or not."

I allowed her five seconds before inviting myself inside. Her chamber appeared just as it had the night before only now several wooden boxes and trunks filled one corner of the room, the only items removed were thick, leather-bound books scattered across the floor. Isabella was nowhere in sight.

"Bella?" I asked aloud.

No response.

I closed my eyes and listened carefully, attempting to drown out the sounds of the world around me. I listened past the squeals of children playing in the street, merchants calling out the prices of their goods at the market, the rumble of car engines as they disrupted the quiet calm of the city. I shut it all out until I could hear this room alone.

The groaning of ancient plumbing coming to life, the many steps of a spider hurrying beneath the couch, the whistle of the wind through the hinges in the balcony doors and finally, a ruffle of fabric and hair caught in the breeze coming from the rafters above.

As if sensing that I had caught on, she leaped at me. I side-stepped as she landed in the spot I had been standing and grabbed her wrists, flipping her over my hip and tumbling across the ground until she hit the wall harshly.

"Nice try," I chuckled with honest amusement in my voice. She cried out with a humiliated screech and then surprised me by flipping up onto the balls of her feet. "I meant it. Nice try." I strolled forward and began packing away the books she'd left out. "I see you are already utilizing your new skills. That's good."

She looked as if she were considering an attack, but her features softened, and she let out a huff of laughter, running her fingers through her hair to clear her vision. She was clean and dressed. She wore a T-shirt and jeans, black of course. It wasn't often you saw the guard in anything but black.

"You look better," I told her. She looked uncomfortable, unsure on how to take the compliment. "More human," I added. This addition seemed to settle her, and she looked down at her clothes and began to pat off the dust that had collected during her fall.

"Yeah," Was all she mumbled.

As I lifted the last book, I turned to Bella.

"You like to read?" I asked only out of courtesy. I knew she liked to read. I had seen snippets of her personality in Edward's memories. Her love for books was a defining trait. Bella nodded but did not speak. An image came to mind and I knew where our lesson would take place.

"Collect your cloak and we'll be on our way for our first lesson,"

"There's no cloaks in there," She beckoned to the wardrobe, "None that let me go outside anyway,"

"I see," I said, "Guard," I called, and the guard stationed outside the door entered. "Your cloak, if you please." The guard looked confused for a moment but did not argue before removing their outer cloak and handing it to me. I held it out to Bella. "Put it on."

Bella frowned. I threw the cloak at her and she snatched it out of the air – mildly surprised by her speed, I assumed from the look on her face – and she began pulling the cloak over her head. I knew there was an underground sewer great in the basement of this building, one that connected directly to the dungeons of our home. He could use that to return there.

"Where are we going?" Bella asked as I lead the way to the exit.

"You will see,"

* * *

We left the building through a side exit which leads straight into a narrow alleyway between the building and its neighbour. Despite the cover of shade, I lifted my hood and Bella followed my lead. You could never be too careful, risking exposure meant the death sentence, no exceptions.

"Come," I instructed, and we began walking but as we approached the end of the alley, she gasped and stumbled back a step.

I glanced down at her when I noticed her scrunching up her features.

Then her features dropped.

"The people," She said, I looked ahead noting a bicyclist who flew by, followed by a family and laughing children. I sighed. I realized she had caught a whiff of their blood. "I can taste it…" She sounded disgusted and overwhelmed at the same time. Her eyes could not focus, darting from my own and back to the humans aimlessly drifting by. "I can taste it in the air."

I moved between her and the exit to the street, looming over her, blocking off all view of the locals. Our cloaks helping us blend into the nothing, our large hoods shadowing our inhuman eyes. "You can resist it," I assured her. You have already fed; your mind is powerful, and your body is strong. You do not need their blood."

"But I can feel it," She wrapped her fingers around her own throat. "It still burns,"

"An echo. A memory is all that is. A reminder."

She paused, a thought in her eyes. "You'd have to stop me if I tried, right? If I lost control. You can't let humans find out about us."

"I would, correct,"

This seemed to offer some reassurance because she began nodding. "Okay." And after a moment, "Let's go."

She seemed to develop more confidence in her resistance as we moved closer to the clocktower building, her worry melting into a smile. "What?" I asked after a moment, curiosity taking over.

"I can smell…everything." She whispered as we walked past an opening to the market, taking in the overly harsh heat of the spices lined along the wooden shelves or the life of recently picked flowers or taste of freshly made bread. "Things I didn't even know _had_ a smell." She tried to hide it by turning her head, but I caught the way the corner of her lip turned upwards in a smile.

We avoided walking through the courtyard until we reached the clocktower and entered through the visitor entrance. The clock tower had been closed off to the public recently which meant that once inside we could lower our hoods. As I began walking down the hall, the small heels of my polished shoes echoing around us, I sensed hesitation behind me and listened to her footsteps slow. I peered over my shoulder, scowling, but the look quickly vanished when I saw the one on her face. She was taking in the foyer,

She stared ahead of me…seemingly at nothing.

"What is it?" I demanded.

"I didn't realize last night but this is where I rescued Edward, where I pushed him…" She pointed to the door, then her eyes slowly drifted the tiled floor beyond it. Sadness welled in her eyes. There was nothing I could say to console her.

"Come," I said, softer.

We passed through a door on which a small metal plate read the word _Privato_ **,** and then I lead the way down a flight of stone flag steps, pressed a button and waited for the arrival of the elevator. When they opened we moved swiftly through the small reception…until I realized Bianca was present.

Upon seeing Bella, Bianca glared at us alarmingly from behind that ancient curving desk.

"Good morning," Bianca forced out in a shaky breath. Bella looked at Bianca, her eyes taking in the human woman, she angled her head slightly and for a moment and nodded. Bianca's fear was not unjustified. Everyone knew of the Newborn in their home. Everyone knew of the lives she had already taken.

Bella continued down the adjoining marble corridor. I followed, leaving Bianca to gawk after us in horror as we descended into the shadows. To say Bianca spent her days just waiting to be turned, she looked terrified at that moment. Bianca was one of the Volturi's many humans subjugates, our essential slaves and servants and the occasional meal. Most subjugates offer themselves to us in hopes of one day being turned and sometimes they were – If Aro saw something special in them. Bianca had served this coven loyally for most of her human existence and had still yet to be turned. It showed in the wrinkles in the corner of her eyes, the changing of color in her hair and the sagging of her skin. Long past the desired age, one would want to remain for the rest of eternity, yet she remained hopeful and always with a smile on her face, even if it was forced and full of fear.

Another soul I pitied.

I lead Bella down a set of spiral staircases and then deeper beneath the city, as far away from the throne room as possible. I found myself walking past my chambers and wanting nothing more than to enter and remain in there for the foreseeable future but alas, Bella was my responsibility.

"Your smell is the strongest one down here," She said as we walked.

"Those were my chambers we just passed, they are the only chambers this deep below ground. Everyone else prefers to be closer to the Masters."

"And you don't?"

I thought about my answer carefully, "I am invaluable to Aro. He likes to keep me safe," Not necessarily a lie.

"That's not what I asked," A smile teasing on the edge of her plump lips, a looming curiosity took hold.

Careful, careful territory. "I live only to serve Aro."

Bella glanced sideways at me, and through my peripheral vision, I could see the way in which she stared. I tried my best to ignore it, to remain expressionless and uninterested in the conversation but there was no denying that in that moment, Isabella Swan had uncovered a hidden truth about me. She had seen straight through the mask I wore, ignored the lies I told. I could almost see the fire in her eyes settling as she realized I was different.

"We're here," I said, stopping just beyond a pair of arched, wooden doors built into the white marble of the hall. She flared her nostrils.

"What is this place, it smells…old."

"Old?" I questioned, fighting a smile. "Everything in Volterra is old."

"You know what I mean," She jerked her chin to the door, "This place smells different,"

I understood what she meant, the scent barely breezing through the hinges and cracks in the door was particular to this place alone and the reason for that she soon discovered. I opened the doors and beckoned her inside. Immediately, she gasped involuntarily and for the first time since stepping through the doors of her chambers, seemed eager to explore. Beyond the doors on either side of us were tall, floor to ceiling bookcases that created the illusion of a corridor.

"Whoa," She exclaimed, rushing forward. Her eager steps quickly becoming a blurring run and she flew at a blinding speed to the end of the hall which opened into a large, circular space occupied by dozens of lounges and armchairs and tables, all facing a grand hearth with roaring flames. The center of the Volturi's Grand Library. Even I had to admit this place almost made being trapped here somewhat worthwhile. The walls were lined with lit iron lanterns, every tabletop decorated with bundles of flickering candles, chandeliers hung so far above they looked like shimmering diamond patterns against the cold stone ceiling, three floors high.

"It's beautiful," She smiled, brightly and true.

"Yes, it is." I agreed.

Each floor decorated with the most expensive furnishings; ancient bookcases of intricate design, antiques considered old even by our standards and a million books to behold. The rooms and aisles were made up entirely of floor-to-ceiling bookcases, their shelves filled with old, leather-bound books filled with knowledge known only to our kind.

"These books have to be hundreds of years old," I noticed the hint of curiosity in her voice and watched intensely as she crossed the room to the furthest shelf and began withdrawing books in clouds of dust.

"Older," I said. "And there is more,"

We moved left to the large balcony overlooking the floor below us. From here, we could see that we were not alone. Both Volturi guards and human subjugates were dotted around the place, relaxing, studying or following the command of their masters. Upon our arrival, all eyes lifted to us. Bella's excitement seemed to diminish.

It would take time to adjust to this change, for us all.

"I imagine you will be spending much time in here," I said casually as I took to the steps.

"I imagine you're right," She huffed, following.

"I'll show you around."

She did not object.

We moved from floor to floor, starting at the bottom and working our way back up. During this time, I recalled to Bella the history of the library and almost laughed at the look on her face when she discovered how far back the library dated. I explained how there were books on anything and everything you could possibly imagine, books written millennia ago in languages, so few spoke, some written in languages so few had ever heard of.

All the while, her eyes remained wide in wonder.

"Am I allowed to look around?" She asked when we returned to the center of the library, "Alone?"

I thought about it for a moment but decided there was nothing against it. "You are a member of the guard now. Technically, this all belongs to you too. Help yourself. I need to collect a few books before our lesson begins anyway," She nodded and went to take a step, "Bella?" She paused and looked back at me. "Please…do not try anything stupid. There are guards stationed at the exits in here. They will report both of us to Aro should you try to escape."

"I won't."

And after our conversation about her family the night before, I believed her.

Then she was gone.

As I collected the books I knew of that related to shields and searched for others that could possibly help, I listened to Bella's eager footsteps as she tried – and failed – to hide her excitement. The _tap tap tap_ of her bare feet against the smooth stone flags echoed throughout the library. Once I had everything I needed, I called her name gently, knowing she would hear. She returned with several books piled in her arms, "I'm going to borrow these,"

"Very well, I have what I need. Have the books sent to your room and we'll be on our way,"

"On our way?" She asked, "We're not having the lesson here?" She sounded disappointed.

"Not exactly," I turned and spotted the nearest human, "You, boy," I addressed the closest human across the sitting area, stacking books back into a shelf. He spun, his eyes glistening with excitement and concern at being spoken to directly by a vampire. "Come,"

He hurried over. I spun to face Bella, "When he arrives you will give him orders to take your things back to your chambers."

She shook her head, "I don't need to do that. I can carry them myself,"

I should have guessed this reaction. Usually, I wouldn't have cared but I could hear – sense – other guards in the room watching, listening in.

"Just because you can doesn't mean you must. One thing Aro values greatly is servitude and respect and the humans live to serve us. It's what they are here for." Did I believe this wholeheartedly? No, of course not. "Aro will want to see you are embracing your new role as a member of our guard, as a vampire."

"Aro's not watching," She argued.

"Aro is _always_ watching,"

It took a few seconds, but she caught on, understanding what I meant. Her eyes flickering to the shadows, to the alcoves built into the walls, to the hidden tunnels branching off to other areas of our home. Aro may not have been in the room but those who reported him were. We were all Aro.

"Right," She whispered back, nodding. The boy neared. He was a pretty young man, of Asian origins which hair as black as pitch, a short nose, and petite frame. Grey eyes hidden behind glasses. I did not recognize him.

I remained still, silent, appearing bored. Bella seemed to realize I had handed the reigns to her.

"Uh…Your name?"

"Ar-Archie. Archibald, ma'am," The boy gulped. I could not blame him. Word had surely spread among the human subjugates of Isabella's first feed, which had resulted in a dozen of their friends and co-worker's dead.

"I need these books taken to my room," She nodded to the pile she held easily in her hands. The boy – Archibald – nodded.

"Of course, ma'am," He muttered, reaching for the books. He struggled to take them from her and I could see the desire to help him balance them in Bella's eyes, but she withheld herself, keeping her features plain.

"My chambers are in the building across the courtyard, the top floor." She instructed,

"Yes Ma'am," He already knew this, every human we enslaved was required to know every inch of Volterra to save the vampires giving orders the responsibility of guiding the humans they instructed on where they needed to go.

"Is there anything else, ma'am?"

Bella thought about her answer, "No."

Again, you could see how not adding two simple words, "Thank you," Onto the end of her sentence was killing her. Still, she remained upright, seemingly uninterested. "Make it quick, I'll want them soon," Was all she said before storming past him towards the library doors. I watched impressively as she threw them open and sauntered away. I needn't worry. I knew it was part of the act, she was beginning to understand the part she was required to play.

* * *

We returned to the surface, left through the clocktower and drifted into the nearest alley; all the while Bella remained silent. Together we moved through the city, sticking the alleyways and shadows as much as we could. It was easy to forget you were in the presence of a Newborn. Isabella's sense of self-control was impressive. Any ordinary Newborn would be on edge so close to fresh, hot blood – even after feeding – but it seemed to be the last thing on Bella's mind now. I needn't ask what was on her mind. Bella no longer needed me to remind her that she must be careful in what she said and what she did as to not give Aro an excuse to punish her.

"You understand why it was important you treated him as your inferior?" I asked as we moved.

"Because If I didn't it would have looked like I respected him." We turned a corner and then another, passing beneath the shadow of a bridge between two buildings.

"And?"

"And that would have made him a target for Aro."

I nodded. "Correct. You're beginning to understand."

"I understand completely, it doesn't mean I like it."

We walked in silence until we reached the edge of the city and our destination. "We're here," I told her, but she looked around, squinting, her eyes focussing on the building we stood before.

"This?" She sighed in disbelief, beckoning up at the building with a single judging finger.

"This," I confirmed.

"This…" She said, "Is a church?" True enough, the building looming over us, in whose shadow we lurked, was a church – or was. The church was small, two floors only, and made up cracked white stone and splintering wood. The only indication of its purpose being an ancient, rusted statue of Jesus Christ hanging above the door.

"It had been a church once upon but now it is the property of the Volturi. We use it as storage space."

"Storage space, you don't have enough of that below ground?"

I shrugged, "Apparently not." I unlatched the door, its hinges screaming as it slowly swung inwards and Bella followed me inside. The entrance opened into one singular room. What once had been filled with hopeful hearts, thoughts and prayers were now empty and soulless. The amount of dust we had disturbed just by opening the door hinted at this building being abandoned for quite some time.

Bella looked around. I knew she was seeing what I could see.

The paint on the bricks had cracked and peeled away with age, flaked speckles covered the floor, reminding me unnervingly of broken vampire skin. Most windows were boarded up, meaning we could lower our hoods; the ones that weren't were either smashed or covered by white, lace curtains. I noticed Bella gawking at the long-dead moths and flies that had been entangled in their intricate patterns.

With each step clouds of dust erupted from beneath us, filling the air with dust motes that shone like spots of silver in the random rays of sunlight.

"No lock," She asked, stepping forward.

"No need." I replied, "It's no secret to the locals this place is private property. That and they also believed it to be _Maledetto…_ " My mouth curling into an evil grin, one I had mastered.

"Haunted?" She guessed.

"Close, Cursed."

As we walked between the broken, white church pews towards the staircase at the back of the room, I spoke. "There have been rumors of this place for centuries, men and women with glowing red eyes and pale faces coming and going from this building, shrouded in shadows, all hours of the day and night."

I winked at her and Bella scoffed a laugh, wiping her finger through the dust. The disused wooden furniture had started rotting; stained with lichen.

"I have to say I prefer the library, even with other people there."

"Oh, this isn't where we're training,"

"It isn't?"

I beckoned her to follow with my finger and together we moved up the stone stairwell, ascending into what would become our private classroom.

A spacious room made up of white brick with tall wooden beams arching into the rafters above, holding up the roof, dividing the space around us and giving the illusion of separate rooms. This place had once been a study, a classroom, a place of learning and education. I moved through the shadows to the opposite end of the room facing the back of the building and drew the black curtains back, filling the space with blinding white light. Just enough light to see, not enough to set us ablaze in diamonds. The new light filling the room highlighted the dust motes spinning in the air. The finest layer of dust coating almost everything.

"What do you think?"

A rug I knew to be the hide of some poor wolf cushioned her bare toes as she stepped ever so slowly into the quiet. "Not quite as miserable as downstairs," She said, stepping to the far side of the room where the back wall was made up entirely of bookcases; Though unlike the ones in the library, were shorter and poorly made, books shoved carelessly into any space, unorganized and torn. She ran her finger along the spine of a thick red book, its pages yellowed with age.

I moved across and gathered several wooden logs from the corner and lay them accordingly into the fireplace made up of thick, clunky grey bricks by the stairwell. It wasn't long before flames were crackling. Black, pot floor vases stood on either side me, displaying the grey remains of dead flowers, their petals crisp and curled like the spider's dead beside them.

"Could do with a clean, I'll send someone in later, but I think it'll do nicely,"

Two old tables made from the same, grey wood as the bookshelves and stools had been pushed together in the center of the space to make desks. I set down my books atop of them and placed by bottom on one of the stools as I loosened my cloak and folded it neatly over the back of an old, wooden bench.

"This is where we'll learn, practice to control my shield thing."

"Indeed."

She loosened her own cloak and let it drop to the ground, her bare arms chalk white in the daylight through the windows. "Then let's get to it."

"So eager to die?" I teased.

She looked right at me and said with all seriousness. "Yes. The quicker I forget this world, the better."

"Well," I said, flipping open the first book. "Let's get to it."

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Asher's Note:

Hello Everyone! Chapter Four of my Prequel Story is here! For what happens in this chapter, I don't have an excuse for how long it's been since I updated! I know it has been ridiculously long, but I need to write when I am inspired and have the time, forcing words out isn't the best way to go. Sorry! In this chapter, Kai shows Isabella around a little bit and they begin their lessons to lower her shield. I hope to hear what people think. Thanks a lot for reading!

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Responding to your reviews:

Guest #1: Thank you for your review! And I agree! I've had people be angry at me regarding the characters and plot of this story, claiming that I am trying to make heroes out of individuals that have done horrible things and that is not what I am trying to do. I'm just trying to explain why they did what they did. I hope to hear your thoughts on this chapter.

Guest #2: What's taking me so long is I am an adult with adult responsibilities and I don't always have the time to write twilight fanfiction on the internet, as much as I love it and wish I did.

Guest #3: The chapter is here! Sorry for the wait, and sorry we didn't get to see the actual beginning of the training here. I wanted to get the chapter up as soon as possible and while I had it in me to write ha-ha. Hope you enjoyed.

Alice: That is true. The overall plot of this story is explained very quickly in Remember A Love Long Lost, I started this story mostly to be able to show the smaller, quieter scenes between Bella and Kai as they work together and fall in love. There may not be many training scenes for this exact reason, but I hopefully shall finish this story one day. When Remember a Love Long Lost is finished, this will probably be my main project.

Guest #4: Thank you for reviewing! I based Kai on the model Sean O'Pry, loosely. A more rugged version of him, obviously. He is very much like Dick Grayson! If Dick Grayson had stubble! I see why you would fan-cast Danielle Campbell as Bella, she is very Bella-esque. (Love her in the Originals.) Although she is not who I imagine as my Bella. In fact, I don't know who I imagine as Bella. I like Kristen Stewart despite her being a terrible Bella. She portrays a vampire Bella much better than the human one, and I think Kristen would play a very good EVIL version of Bella such as the Isabella from this story. Although I'm not sure. My Isabella was originally based on Katherine from the Vampire Diaries and because the characters are so similar in looks and personality, I could see Nina Dobrev as my Isabella. Who would you cast as my Isabella? I'm curious.

~Asher~


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